Bridging Theory and Practice: Benefits of Hands-On PIC training

LightPort Set-up

Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are widely regarded as a fundamental technology for future developments in communications and potential in sensing and quantum systems. While many of us in the photonics community understand what PICs are and how they operate, a different question is:

Have you ever actually worked with one?

For over 20 years — since my PhD — I have been familiar with photonic integrated circuits. I understood their core components, functionality, and how they are made. I knew the theory. Yet I had never directly integrated one into a system, tested one, or interfaced with it in practice.

That gap between theoretical understanding and practical competence became clear when I initiated the PIC Bootcamp as part of an Innovate UK skills initiative for semiconductor technologies (https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/semiconductor-industry-skills-and-training/).

The training session I particularly refer to is the Enthusiast session led by Light Trace Photonics. Light Trace Photonics has developed the LightPort platform, a hands-on PIC training platform, a black box with input ports and internal photodetectors, that teaches PIC components, their functions, and how a simple PIC system operates.

LightPort:EDU plug-and-play training box from Light Trace Photonics

Why hands-on PIC training matters and what the benefits are

Traditional photonics education focuses heavily on theory: waveguides, interference, modulation physics, and device design. While essential, these topics alone do not prepare engineers for the realities of working with PIC hardware. In real environments, success depends on many factors, including:

• coupling light reliably,

• variation in device geometries due to manufacturing variabilities.

• testing and verifying signals to ensure that the design intention has been met,

• controlling components through programmable electronics

• and - debugging.

The benefits of hands-on PIC training: it provides a better understanding and appreciation of.

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What the lesson taught me

The introductory LightPort lesson of our PIC Bootcamp focused on operating a programmable photonic chip and building experimental confidence. As participants, we learnt to:

1. Understand a Programmable Photonic Chip System

We gained hands-on experience with phase shifters, integrated detectors, multiplexers, and more within a programmable ecosystem.

2. Build and Route Optical Circuits

We attached external lasers to the LightPort via fibre patch cords with polarisers. Each port linked to a specific component or circuit, and the PIC was programmed to create basic photonic circuits, ultimately leading to a photodiode that detected optical signals. Specifically, we learned how light propagates through a photonic circuit, how routing influences its function, and how to identify incorrect connections.

3. Mastery of Fibre Coupling and Handling

The lesson emphasises fibre alignment, cleanliness, and connector handling. Something I did remember from many years ago, when I had to cleave and polish my own fibres.

4. Measurement, Verification, and Data-Driven Debugging

Using photodiodes and live plotting, we confirmed the presence of the signal and monitored its behaviour in real time. It felt great when the output confirmed the theory.

5. Software-Controlled Photonics

Through software control, we adjust voltage channels to tune components such as variable attenuators and phase shifters. We could see how a change in a specific parameter affected the output, and also how it was not quite as ideal as a calculation might suggest.

6. Manual Tuning vs Automation

The system supports both manual control, which helped us get a better “feel” for performance. This was then followed by the use of a Python script programme for automated control, which gave us a much nicer performance curve. 

7. Understanding Fabrication and Performance Variability

Finally, we swept through voltages, recorded detector outputs, and plotted results to identify optimal operating points, helping us to understand the performance and characteristics of our circuits. Since we had access to several light ports, we could see the variations in the performance of each. 

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My Takeaways: What Shifting from Theory to Practice Really Delivers

PICs are not just devices — they are systems to be handled

You can design an elegant photonic circuit on paper. But once you begin working with real hardware, you immediately confront the realities of coupling light in and out, controlling signals, and measuring performance. Working with the LightPort training platform meant physically routing light, connecting fibres, and verifying signals.

Here are my personal lessons:

• Coupling efficiency defines real-world performance

• You can actually control and program a PIC and change its performance (I know that sounds obvious, but when you do it and it works, it feels great)

• Polarisation matters more than you expect

• Programming reveals device behaviour

• Fabrication variability is real

What would your learnings be?

Elevate Your Photonics Career—By Doing, Not Just Knowing

You may know what photonic integrated circuits are. You may even know how to design them. But until you work with them — align fibres, optimise polarisation, tune interferometers, and observe real signals — you do not fully get them. The future of photonics will not be built by theory alone. It will be built by engineers who have learned to make light work in the real world, literally.

If you want to deepen your own skills, sign up for the Enthusiast.

The future is built by those who bridge theory and practice—by people ready to get hands-on and make photonics work in the real world.