INTEGRATED VACUUM CELL ASSEMBLIES

The disclosure describes vacuum cell assemblies that integrate a vacuum envelope with a photonic integrated circuit (PIC). Walls of the vacuum envelope are coupled to the PIC, such as through anodic bonding, so that the PIC forms at least one wall of the vacuum envelope and provides an optically accessible medium and surface for transmitting and distributing light into various cavities of the vacuum envelope through one or more nonplanar waveguides. A surface of the PIC may include a material that is compatible with a material of the walls of the vacuum envelope, such as a silicon-based vacuum envelope bonded to a silicon nitride or amorphous silicon surface of the PIC. Each waveguide may include a bridge structure that forms a planar surface for tightly bonding with the vacuum envelope and preserves properties of the transmitted light between opposing sections of the waveguide.