Dr. Masahiro Murakawa and his colleague of the Advanced Semiconductor Research Center (ASRC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), one of independent administrative institutions, have developed, in collaboration with the Nano Control Co., Ltd. (NCC), a system for automatic alignment (precision positioning) between multiple optical devices based on a genetic algorithm for the artificial intelligence, and succeeded in connecting wave guides with optical fiber arrays in a short span of time through the simultaneous alignment of input and output sides.

In contrast to the interconnection of electronic components, that of optical devices requires precision alignment of coupling faces at accuracy as fine as hundreds of nanometers. Up to now, the alignment work needed experienced and skilled hands, taking a long time, around 30 to 60 minutes. In order to overcome such a trouble, a number of automatic aligning system have been developed, but all of them failed to achieve successful alignment with greater number of positioning sites and degrees of freedom (DOF). For connecting multiple optical devices with greater number of DOF, longer time was consumed for aligning to hamper the automation.

In the present study, an automatic alignment system was developed allowing to perform the alignment within a practicable time interval even for greater number of DOF through the use of genetic algorithm [Fig. 1]. In an experiment using this system, simultaneous alignment for the interconnection of optical fiber, wave guide and optical fiber array involving five degrees of freedom in total was finished in 10 minutes or so. It is expected that the process will be shortened to a few minutes through further development efforts. High-functionality optical devices needed for laying optical networks call for alignment by skilled hands, raising the manufacturing cost and hindering the mass production. It may be expected that the massive production of functional optical devices at lower cost will be realized, and the spread of the optical networks will be accelerated, through the application of the present technology. Its application areas include not only the precision alignment of optical devices, but also that for optical instruments, micro-fabrication and nano-technology.

The newly developed automatic alignment system will be displayed at the INTEROPT ’03 exhibition to be held July 15-18 at the International Exhibition Hall, MAKUHARI MESSE, Makuhari, Chiba. The commercialization of the system will be carried out by the Nano Control Co., Ltd., in collaboration with the Evolvable Systems Research Institute, Inc.

Fig. 1. Automatic alignment system