An assembly and an optical element have fiducials for alignment of multiple
beam paths during fabrication of an optical device. In an assembly
including a substrate with machined grooves for optical fibers, a fiducial
can be a carbon-coated fiber or other object disposed in one of the
grooves. In an assembly including a collimator array, a fiducial can be an
opaque collimator lens. Alternatively, photolithographic processes can
provide the required positional accuracy for fiducials on the assembly
and/or the optical element. During alignment, a computer-controllable
process can use machine vision or distance measurements to identify the
position and the orientation of the assembly relative to the optical
element. Based on the identified position and orientation, the process
moves the assembly to the target position and orientation that provide
sufficient optical power flow through the optical element for a fine
alignment process.
