SUBSTRATES AND GRIPPERS FOR OPTICAL FIBER ALIGNMENT WITH OPTICAL ELEMENT(S) AND RELATED METHODS

Apparatuses and methods for the passive alignment of an optical fiber over an optical element on a substrate are disclosed. An optical element and at least one gripper element may be provided on the substrate, wherein the at least one gripper element is positioned in an axial path defined by the optical element. Thus, when an optical fiber is moved along the axial path until an end of the optical fiber makes contact with the at least one gripper element, the optical fiber is aligned with the optical element. In addition, methods of aligning an optical fiber over an optical element on a substrate are disclosed. Further, the optical fibers may be laser angle-cleaved optical fibers with shaped fiber ends, such as laser angle-cleaved wedge or taper structures, as examples.