From PIC Bootcamp to BEVi: Bay Photonics Completes Cornerstone\’s PIC Bootcamp Build.

Bay Photonics is proud to announce the successful completion of the PIC Bootcamp project — an Innovate UK–funded collaboration with Cornerstone designed to accelerate innovation across the UK photonics sector.

 

The programme provided hands-on experience in the design, packaging, and testing of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), helping to strengthen the UK’s capability in this rapidly growing field.

 

As part of the collaboration, the Bay Photonics R&D team successfully assembled and fibre-aligned the Cornerstone Bootcamp PIC, marking an important milestone for both the project and the company. The finished device — packaged within our newly developed standard PIC evaluation module, the BEVi (Bay Evaluation Vehicle) — is now being prepared for shipment to project partners.

 

 

A First for Bay: A Standard PIC Evaluation Module

Before the PIC Bootcamp initiative, Bay Photonics primarily used be

spoke packaging solutions tailored to each customer’s PIC — an approach that, while flexible, often limited scalability and turnaround.

Through the Bootcamp, our engineers gained valuable first-hand experience in critical packaging processes, particularly in understanding how sensitive on-PIC gratings are to the fibre–v-groove array (FVA) angle of incidence (AOI). Getting this angle wrong can lead to poor coupling efficiency; getting it right delivers stable, high-efficiency optical coupling across a range of environmental conditions.

The results speak for themselves. The BEVi module achieved an alignment efficiency of 15.6 dB (FVA → PIC Loop → FVA, ports 1 and 16) after adhesive cure — impressively close to the 13 dB nominal optimum. Across all assembled BEVis, efficiencies ranged from 14.6 to 17.1 dB, demonstrating both consistency and process reliability.

The benefits extend beyond performance:

· Repeatable, standardised manufacturing process

· Reduced lead time thanks to stocked housing components

· Lower production cost

· Dedicated BEVi workstation for streamlined assembly

This marks a step change in Bay Photonics’ ability to deliver PIC packaging quickly, reliably, and affordably.

Building Capability Across the UK Photonics Ecosystem

PIC Bootcamp exemplifies the power of collaboration within the UK photonics community — bringing together world-class design, fabrication, and packaging expertise.

By combining Cornerstone’s silicon photonics platform with Bay Photonics’ advanced assembly and packaging capabilities, the partnership not only produced a functional and robust PIC module but also deepened the skills base within Bay’s engineering team.

The experience has already inspired follow-on R&D work, as we continue to refine alignment techniques, develop new processes, and support future UK photonics packaging projects.

About PIC Bootcamp

PIC Bootcamp is an Innovate UK–funded training and skills development programme led by Anchored-In, with partners including Bay Photonics, the University of Bristol, Wave Photonics, and the University of Southampton’s Cornerstone.

The programme is designed to strengthen the UK’s photonics and microelectronics manufacturing base, providing practical, hands-on training for engineers, graduates, researchers, and professionals seeking to enhance their skills in optics, photonics, and semiconductor integration — with a strong emphasis on commercial readiness and deployment.

Looking Ahead

Bay Photonics continues to build on the experience gained through PIC Bootcamp as part of our ongoing commitment to advancing the UK’s integrated photonics packaging capability — delivering robust, high-performance solutions for emerging applications in quantum technologies, defence, medical, marine, space, and communication applications.

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