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Reviews optical transmission methods through chips, emphasizing guided-mode and free-form photonic vias for substrates such as silicon, glass, and organics. Discusses performance, energy-efficiency, and cost implications for co-packaged optics, biochemical sensors, memory interconnects, optical computing, integrated quantum photonics, and LiDAR systems.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":30,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/technology/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/advances-in-waveguide-to-waveguide-couplers-for-3d-integrated-photonic-packaging-review-article/414264/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/advances-in-waveguide-to-waveguide-couplers-for-3d-integrated-photonic-packaging-review-article/414264.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Hazel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-21","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Which waveguide-to-waveguide coupling device types are covered?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The paper compares inter-chip edge couplers, grating couplers, free-form couplers, evanescent couplers, cantilever couplers, and optical wirebonds.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What chip-transmission technologies are discussed for different substrates?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It discusses efficient light transmission using guided-mode and free-form photonic vias for substrates including silicon, glass, and organics.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What application areas motivate the packaging and coupling advances?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Potential applications include co-packaged optics switch packages, replaceable biochemical sensors, optically connected memory, optical computing, integrated quantum photonics, and integrated LiDAR systems.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},414264,1791026228,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":29,"category_name":30,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},137441390410,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000252f4ab5702993?_k=1776741390130283984","Weninger et al. Light: Science & Applications (2026)15:17 [www.nature.com/lsa](www.nature.com/lsa)  \n[https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-02048-w](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-02048-w)  \nREVIEW ARTICLE Open Access  \nAdvances in waveguide to waveguide couplers for 3D integrated photonic packaging  \nDrew Weninger 1,4 ✉, Samuel Serna2, Luigi Ranno3,5, Lionel Kimerling3 and Anuradha Agarwal1  \nAbstract  \nIn this paper, we provide an overview and comparison of devices used for optical waveguide-to-waveguide coupling including inter-chip edge couplers, grating couplers, free form couplers, evanescent couplers, cantilever couplers, and optical wirebonds. In addition, technology for efficient transmission of light through chips is discussed including guided mode and free form photonic vias for substrates including silicon, glass, and organics. The results are discussed in the context of potential applications including co-packaged optics switch packages, replaceable biochemical sensors, optically connected memory, optical computing, integrated quantum photonics, and integrated LiDAR systems to show possible improvements in energy efficiency, performance, and cost.  \nIntroduction  \nPhotonic integrated circuits (PICs) have seen significant advancement over the past 40 years, highlighted by their rise to dominance in data center interconnects1 and the novel application of PICs in biochemical sensors2, light detection and ranging (LiDAR)3, photonic switching4, photonic computing5, and even chip based 3D printing6. While the high volume manufacturing of PICs has progressed significantly, evidenced by the fact that 103–105 devices can be integrated onto a single die1, their packaging, assembly, and testing has not. Common estimates hold PIC packaging, assembly, and testing responsible for 70−80% of the total cost of PIC manufacturing compared with only 20% for their electronic integrated circuit counterparts7–10 as shown in Fig. 1. Specifically, the data in Fig. 1a shows the breakdown for a state-of-the-art electronic system-on-chip (SoC), demonstrating that frontend-of-line (FEOL) and back-end-of-line (BEOL) fabrication processes in foundries dominates the spending of chip manufacturing11. Meanwhile, the data in Fig. 1b for PICs—in this case indium phosphide (InP)12—shows the situation reversed. Furthermore, the costs can be broken down by  \nCorrespondence: Drew Weninger ([drewski@alum.mit.edu](drewski@alum.mit.edu))  \n1Materials Research Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge 02139 MA, USA  \n2Department of Physics, Photonics, and Optical Engineering, Bridgewater State University, 131 Summer St, Bridgewater 02324 MA, USA  \nFull list of author information is available at the end of the article  \nprocess as in Fig. 1c showing the most expensive processes for electronic fan-out wafer-level-packaging (FO-WLP)13, which is contrasted by Fig. 1d showing the percentage of total cost for packaging, assembly, and test processes in integrated photonics12. This discrepancy is not simply due to electronics die being substantially more expensive than photonics die overall—in fact, relatively simple PICs cost roughly equivalent to the most advanced electronic ICs. For example, a state-of-the-art electronic SoC fabricated on a 5 nm process node costs approximately $0.57 per mm2 14 to purchase from a fabless design firm before packaging, while a SiPh15 or InP PIC costs approximately $0.1–0.4 per mm2 16, respectively, before packaging for chip volumes in the several millions. This is reflected by the fact that when we look at an example electronicphotonic system, such a silicon photonic (SiPh) pluggable transceiver, the packaging, assembly, and testing still dominates the overall cost in comparison to the SiPh transmitter (Tx) or receiver (Rx) die and the required electronics die such as transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) or other drivers8 as shown in Fig. 1e.  \nCurrent techniques in semiconductor packaging and assembl","cbCaihZYlX3LVYsU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihZYlX3LVYsU","pdf",8021086,49,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Photonic integrated circuits and applications\n## Packaging, assembly, and testing cost drivers\n# Current techniques in semiconductor packaging and assembly\n## Electronic packaging and assembly strategies","[{\"question\":\"Which waveguide-to-waveguide coupling device types are covered?\",\"answer\":\"The paper compares inter-chip edge couplers, grating couplers, free-form couplers, evanescent couplers, cantilever couplers, and optical wirebonds.\"},{\"question\":\"What chip-transmission technologies are discussed for different substrates?\",\"answer\":\"It discusses efficient light transmission using guided-mode and free-form photonic vias for substrates including silicon, glass, and organics.\"},{\"question\":\"What application areas motivate the packaging and coupling advances?\",\"answer\":\"Potential applications include co-packaged optics switch packages, replaceable biochemical sensors, optically connected memory, optical computing, integrated quantum photonics, and integrated LiDAR systems.\"}]","Advances in waveguide to waveguide couplers for 3D integrated photonic packaging - review article | PDF",1790597124,123]