Krell Technologies President Al Cheswick recently spoke with Photonics Online at the Photonics West trade show, where he introduced KrellTech’s advanced line of photonic polishing and shaping systems with built-in inspection. The highlight of the conversation was the NOVA™ system—a highly configurable, all-in-one polishing workstation designed for a wide range of photonic applications. 

Key Takeaways from the Interview 

All-in-One Integration: 
The NOVA system combines both the processing and inspection of photonic chips and components directly within the machine—boosting throughput and improving process control. 

Versatile Applications: 
NOVA is adaptable for standard fiber connectors, aerospace interfaces, medical devices, and now most prominently, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and waveguides. 

High Demand for PIC and Waveguide Processing: 
Cheswick noted that most customer inquiries in the past year have centered on PICs and waveguides, underscoring the industry's need for precise and adaptable processing solutions. 

Precision Material Removal: 

The system enables micron-level material removal. With steps as fine as 5 microns, NOVA offers the precision needed for demanding photonic applications where ±25 micron tolerances are standard. 

Advanced Fixturing: 
Fixtures feature independent suspension, allowing multiple components to be polished simultaneously with uniform pressure across all contact points. 

Control Over Key Parameters: 
Users can manually adjust polishing pressure, speed, and cycle time, then transfer those settings to programmable modes using the same interface. 

Full Transcript: Photonics Online Interview with Al Cheswick 

0:00 
Hello, my name is Al Cheswick. 
0:01 
I'm President of Krell Technologies. 
0:04 
We're here at Photonics West displaying our line of photonic polishing inspection systems. 
0:10 
We're highlighting our NOVA system, which is a highly configurable polishing unit. 
0:16 
It's basically a polishing work cell because it integrates both the processing of the chip and photonic components and also the inspection of them, all while they're in the machine itself. 
0:28 
The system is flexible and configurable for applications ranging from standard connectors and terminize to high reliability aerospace interfaces, medical probes and devices. 
0:45 
And now the newer area is photonic integrated circuits and waveguides. 
0:53 
That's been most of our inquiries over the past year have been these type of devices and being able to process them. 
1:00 
There are certain challenges with processing waveguides and PICs. 
1:05 
These include material removal, control, surface finish and controlling the geometry of the end face. 
1:13 
Hence our fixturing is developed to have adjustability for different size chips because in the R&D phases which most of these chips are in now, the final dimensions are not set so you need adjustability for holding. 
1:29 
Additionally, you need variability on angles in order to control various things as reflectance and different types of light control. 
1:40 
Hence our system for material removal. 
1:43 
We have an interface that allows you to control all the primary parameters of polishing, which are pressure, speed and cycle timing. 
1:53 
These can be all adjusted in the manual mode, and basically that data that's accumulated can then be transferred to programmable modes with the same user interface. 
2:05 
Hence, I'm going to start the machine. 
2:06 
So basically we have a waveguide chip loaded in here and we can advance it. 
2:13 
As we're looking here on the video monitor. 
2:16 
This is the waveguide chip and this is the polishing surface. 
2:20 
We found that the tolerance for material removal is on the order of ±25 microns for most applications. 
2:30 
Hence the machine that you specify must have a movement of a less than that. 
2:35 
And our Nova has a movement of five microns. 
2:38 
So I'm able to step each one of these steps is five microns of movement. 
2:44 
Hence you can control the stock removal very accurately, which is critical for pick processing. 
2:51 
Another feature is our fixtures have what we call independent suspension. 
2:56 
So if you're polishing multiple wave guides, each has its own freedom of movement in the Z axis. 
3:02 
What this provides is better pressure control and uniform distribution. 
3:07 
So one position is not getting more excessive pressure than an additional adjacent position and preventing any damage and provides more uniform polishing results. 
3:19 
So that's pretty much a summary of our equipment. 
3:22 
And we urge anyone that's seen this video now to stop by our booth—we’ll be here the remainder of the show on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Learn More 

If you're working with photonic integrated circuits, waveguides, fiber connectors, or aerospace and medical optical interfaces, KrellTech’s NOVA™ system is engineered to meet your precision polishing and inspection needs. 

🎤 Watch the full interview 

👉 Explore the NOVA™ Polishing System at KrellTech.com 
📩 Contact us at sales@krelltech.com