About Vanguard Automation
The company offers machines and processes for 3D nano-printing in the field of photonic integration and packaging. Our solutions cover the full range from small-scale prototyping to fully automated mass production. The technology has been researched at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for almost one decade. Vanguard Automation GmbH was founded in 2017 as a joint venture of Vanguard Photonics GmbH and ficonTEC Service GmbH.
Solutions & Capabilities
Modular machine and software capabilities for scalable manufacturing
Machine Solutions
3D printing of freeform waveguides and micro-optical elements is about to revolutionize photonic packaging and system assembly. Vanguard Automation offers the first industrial solution for in-situ printing of Photonic Wire Bonds (PWB) and facet-attached micro-optical elements.
Software Capabilities
User friendly user interface and software capabilities designed to serve your production requirements. With our unique approach of ‘software defined functionionality’ machines can be reconfigured easily to serve multiple applications if needed.
Applications & Technologies
Assembly and packaging solutions for photonic integrated circuits
Photonic Wire Bonding
Photonic wire bonding (PWB) exploits advanced three-dimensional (3D) nano-printing of single-mode interconnect waveguides between coarsely pre-positioned elements, thereby enabling highly efficient interfaces between waveguides of vastly different mode field profiles in a fully automated process.
Facet-attached micro-lenses
We demonstrated a selection of beam-shaping elements at chip and fiber facets, achieving excellent coupling efficiencies between edge-emitting lasers and single-mode fibers. We also realized printed free-form mirrors and multi-lens systems for beam expansion.
News & Events
Get in contact with us and learn how we came here
Leibinger Innovationspreis Award
Various employees of Vanguard Automation and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) received the Second Prize of the prestigious Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis 2018. More than 500 guests from all over the world participated at the Award Ceremony.
Upcoming Events
Please join us next at SPIE Photonics West 2019 in San Francisco, USA from February 2nd -7th. We welcome you on our booth 5354 and are looking forward to find out more about your applications. Also, we are happy to answer your questions about our solutions.