From Lab to Line: Enabling Efficient PIC Testing for Mass Production
This presentation outlines Marvell’s pioneering approach to transforming photonic integrated circuit (PIC) testing from lab-scale experiments into a scalable, production-ready process. As optical connectivity accelerates toward 800G and beyond, the industry faces the critical challenge of ensuring high-yield, cost-efficient manufacturing at wafer scale. Traditional photonics testing methods—labor-intensive and alignment-sensitive—are no longer sustainable for mass production.
Marvell, in collaboration with Jenoptik and leading probe card partners, introduces the UFO Probecard and an integrated PXI-based test platform that dramatically improves throughput, repeatability, and correlation between lab and line. Key innovations include a vertical pin probe head, polarization-maintaining fibers eliminating manual optimization, and plug-and-play deployment that leverages existing infrastructure. These advancements enable highly repeatable optical coupling, accurate Vπ and chip-loss measurements, and predictive wafer-to-module correlation.
By shifting yield learning “to the left,” this methodology allows early detection of process variation and defect screening before costly assembly, boosting final module yield by up to 20%. With proven scalability across tens of thousands of modulators, the solution provides manufacturers with actionable data to shorten yield improvement cycles, reduce CAPEX, and confidently scale photonic devices into high-volume markets.
