PI Introduces Miniaturized Alignment Engine Platform for Scalable, Parallel E/O Wafer-Level Test

Parallel piezo aligners with fly height sensors enable faster PIC wafer testing.

San Francisco, CA – PI (Physik Instrumente) announced a new technology platform for electro-optical wafer-level testing designed to validate electrical and optical device functions simultaneously in high-volume production. The system combines high-density electrical probing with automated photonic alignment in a compact architecture built for ATE compatibility.

Parallel Operation and Scalability
Designed for production scale, the platform supports parallel operation of multiple miniaturized alignment engines across a single wafer, enabling simultaneous electro-optical probing at multiple test sites to increase throughput and lower cost of test. Its compact, ATE-compatible architecture is intended to make it practical to deploy many aligners in one setup—helping EPIC manufacturers transition from sequential, lab-style alignment to high-volume, repeatable wafer-level testing.

A key new feature is FAU ranging, an interferometry-based fly-height measurement method that uses existing fiber channels—adding no extra hardware and no additional footprint—to measure fiber-to-wafer distance at the point of interest, supporting stable probing and repeatable optical coupling. PI notes that FAU ranging can also enable future approaches such as trench-based photonic edge coupling, helping save wafer real estate and reduce device costs.

“With FAU ranging, we pave the way for trench-based photonic edge coupling, saving wafer real estate, reducing device costs, and unlocking new design freedom for EPIC manufacturers.” Dr. Markus Simon, Strategic Innovation and Technology Management at PI.

PI will present the platform at SPIE Photonics West 2026.

Industries Served: Photonics, electro-optical wafer testing