Ultrabroadband plug-and-play photonic tensor core packaging with sub-dB loss.

Abstract

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) enable high-bandwidth neuromorphic processors and low-decoherence quantum computing on chip-scale platforms, but robust, scalable optical packaging remains a major challenge. Efficient fiber-to-chip coupling is critical to minimize loss and maintain high optical bandwidth for photonic computing. We present a plug-and-play fiber-to-PIC solution using female multifiber termination push-on cables, with alignment counterparts additively fabricated on the chip via two-photon polymerization. We develop 3D out-of-plane couplers achieving -0.41-decibel peak transmission and broadband performance with losses below 0.55 decibels in the 1500-to 1600-nanometer range. Integration with the plug-and-play interface adds only 0.37 ± 0.12 decibels, yielding a record-low 0.78-decibel loss for passive out-of-plane packaging. Reproducibility is demonstrated by interfacing a 17-port photonic circuit for incoherent photonic computing, coupling the full 100-nanometer spectrum of a superluminescent LED to enable low-noise operation at 17.6 gigabaud. This passive, multiport, and reconfigurable approach delivers high performance, reliability, and versatility, advancing photonic packaging toward the scalability of electronic chip integration.