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Micromachines 2026 , 17 , 592 27 of 34 on the same die to account for environmental stability and system repeatability . By encom- passing these variations in die location and characterization cycles, the results confirm …

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In the Low-Speed regimes, the absolute time required for alignment increases signifi-
cantly due to the lower slew rates and settling times. In the LS-H scenario, see Figure 10a,
the Ref-Coarse and Ref-Coarse+Fine scans become impractical for volume production, re-
quiring over 257.1 a.u. per die. The Cross provides a middle-ground baseline, consistently
solving approximately 90% of the problems within a predictable time budget. However, like
the gradient methods, it struggles with the highest-precision requirements. The Bayesian
methods maintain their dominance in reliability, achieving the highest final success rates
even as the absolute time scales upward.
Data profile analysis reveals distinct convergence behaviors across all evaluated sce-
narios. Local BO exhibits steep, consistent trajectories that secure high success rates within
moderate step budgets, whereas Global BO demonstrates a similar but marginally slower
initial ascent due to the absence of cross-scan initialization. Among gradient techniques, Var-
Grad displays the steepest initial rise but suffers an early performance plateau, indicating
fundamental failure cases on challenging coupling landscapes. Conversely, Fix-Grad main-
tains a steady progression toward maximum reliability, confirming its status as the most
dependable gradient approach with a 100% experimental success rate. Furthermore, the
one-dimensional Cross method prematurely plateaus near 75–80% success, while exhaus-
tive reference techniques require an impractical hundreds of measurements to converge.
Analyzed according to the statistical methodology of Beiranvand et al. [
18
], these profiles
confirm that Local BO and Fix-Grad offer the best combination of speed and reliability
across the operating conditions tested.
4.3. Algorithm Robustness
Table 5 quantifies the convergence reliability across all simulation scenarios, measuring
the percentage of trials achieving
≥
95% of global maximum power. The reliability analysis
establishes Fix-Grad as the most robust optimization algorithm, achieving a consistent
95.8% success rate across all simulation scenarios. Global BO remains a strong contender,
achieving 93.1% success in idealized (LS-NH) conditions and maintaining around 89%
reliability in the presence of hysteresis. This represents a significant improvement over
earlier baselines, although it does not yet match the consistency of the deterministic Fix-
Grad method.
Table 5. Convergence reliability of the alignment algorithms (defined as the percentage of trials
reaching ≥95% of optimal power).
Algorithm HS-H HS-NH LS-H LS-NH
Ref-Coarse 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Ref-Coarse+Fine 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Cross Scan 94.4 94.4 94.4 94.4
Local BO 94.4 94.4 94.4 94.4
Global BO 88.9 90.3 88.9 93.1
Var-Grad 90.3 90.3 90.3 90.3
Fix-Grad 95.8 95.8 95.8 95.8
5. Discussion
5.1. Experimental Versus Simulation Performance
The experimental results in Table 1 provide a validation of algorithm performance
on real PIC alignment tasks. The 100% success rates achieved by Local BO and Fix-Grad
methods in experiments are particularly significant, as they demonstrate robustness across
eight diverse coupling scenarios. This diversity stems from characterizations performed
across seven different dies distributed to cover the full wafer surface as comprehensively
as possible, spanning multiple reticle positions, supplemented by repeated measurements
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on the same die to account for environmental stability and system repeatability. By encom-
passing these variations in die location and characterization cycles, the results confirm that
the proposed algorithms can generalize effectively across the typical process and placement
variations encountered in high-volume wafer-level testing.
In terms of the interpretation of experimental rankings, results reflect the performance
of algorithms with baseline parameters on a limited but highly realistic dataset of 8 coupling
scenarios. Local BO achieved rank 1 due to its perfect 100% success rate combined with
the fastest alignment time (99.87 a.u.) among the successful methods. Fix-Grad achieved
rank 2, also with 100% success but requiring more time (154.01 a.u.). Global BO, despite
strong performance metrics (97.60% accuracy), achieved only 87.5% success rate, placing
it at rank 3. This lower success rate in the experimental phase reflects the conservative
baseline parameters used at that stage, which had not yet been optimized for the specific
characteristics of the Eclipse Dynamic system.
Following the experimental phase, an iterative improvement of the methods was
conducted to refine the algorithm. The simulation study, which evaluated all the seven
algorithms across 72 test scenarios (8 experiments
×
9 spatial offsets), employed these im-
provements. This larger statistical sample and improved parameterization led to different
performance rankings compared to the experimental results, revealing the true performance
characteristics across diverse initial conditions.
The simulation framework reliably mimics real-world constraints. The RBF inter-
polation accurately captures landscape topologies, evidenced by the strong quantitative
agreement between experimental data (e.g., Local BO experimental accuracy of 98.24%) and
simulated outcomes (98.2–98.3%), indicating minimal uncertainty from the data processing
and validating the fidelity of framework.. The difference in the success rates primarily
reflects the evolution from baseline to changes of the algorithms and parameters, and the
statistical power of the larger simulation dataset.
Given that the simulation results employ improved methods and parameters and a
statistically rigorous evaluation across 72 scenarios, they provide the most reliable basis
for production deployment recommendations. The experimental results validate the fun-
damental algorithmic approaches and confirm real-world viability, while the simulation
results guide the selection of parameters and operating regimes.
5.2. Algorithm Selection Guidelines Across Operating Scenarios
The choice of an optimal alignment algorithm for the Eclipse Dynamic system de-
pends on the operating speed capability and the effectiveness of hysteresis compensation.
Comprehensive recommendations for each of the four evaluated scenarios are provided
next, progressing from worst-case to ideal-case conditions.
5.2.1. Scenario 1: LS-H (Low-Speed with Hysteresis)
This configuration establishes the baseline worst-case scenario, defined by conser-
vative hardware actuation speeds coupled with uncompensated piezoelectric hysteresis.
Under these conditions, the mandatory reset-to-zero maneuvers impose substantial tem-
poral overhead, while the restricted slew rates further exacerbate the latency associated
with each trajectory adjustment. Based on these stringent operating parameters, Fix-Grad
emerges as the optimal choice for maximizing process yield (see Tables 3 and 5). While
the Var-Grad approach operates faster, its approximate 10% failure rate requires manual
intervention, preventing any speed advantage in a production setting. Furthermore, the
substantial temporal penalties imposed by mandatory reset-to-zero maneuvers dispropor-
tionately degrade the performance of Bayesian approaches in this slow-actuation regime,
leaving Fix-Grad as the most robust and practical solution.
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5.2.2. Scenario 2: LS-NH (Low-Speed, No Hysteresis)
Algorithmic hysteresis compensation effectively eliminates the reset-to-zero over-
head, although hardware actuation speeds remain inherently slow. This configuration
successfully isolates the specific operational benefits of software-based compensation. With
hysteresis effectively mitigated in software, alignment times improve across all methods
(Table 3). Nevertheless, Fix-Grad maintains its operational dominance. Var-Grad provides
a marginal speed advantage of roughly 2 a.u., but its lower reliability presents an unfa-
vorable speed-versus-yield trade-off. Although the removal of physical reset maneuvers
improves the relative viability of Bayesian methods compared to the LS-H scenario, their
computational overhead keeps them slower than gradient-based alternatives, solidifying
Fix-Grad as the definitively recommended strategy.
5.2.3. Scenario 3: HS-H (High-Speed with Hysteresis)
Representing typical production conditions, this scenario pairs rapid hardware kine-
matics with uncompensated hysteresis. Evaluating algorithmic efficacy under these con-
straints is vital for industrial systems where implementing feedforward compensation
remains impractical. In this realistic high-volume configuration, Fix-Grad is strongly rec-
ommended when alignment reliability is paramount, maintaining peak success rates while
remaining highly competitive in execution speed. Var-Grad should be restricted to prelimi-
nary screening applications where occasional failures are an acceptable trade-off for rapid
alignment. Notably, this scenario highlights a critical limitation of the Global BO approach:
without cross-scan initialization, pure probabilistic exploration struggles to resolve the
hysteresis-distorted landscape efficiently, resulting in both the lowest reliability and longest
execution time among the optimization methods.
5.2.4. Scenario 4: HS-NH (High-Speed No Hysteresis)
This ideal regime couples rapid hardware kinematics with effective feedforward hys-
teresis compensation [
14
,
16
]. Representing the gold standard for production deployment,
this configuration highlights the ultimate capabilities of the algorithms. Fix-Grad is defini-
tively recommended, delivering an optimal balance of high reliability and rapid alignment
to effectively mitigate throughput bottlenecks [
3
]. While Var-Grad achieves the absolute
fastest alignment time (approaching 1 a.u.), its persistent 9.7% failure rate remains a lim-
iting factor for strict production environments. Conversely, despite requiring the fewest
physical measurement steps, the substantial computational overhead of GP fitting severely
inflates the temporal cost of the Global BO method, rendering it unsuitable for high-volume
environments demanding both absolute reliability and sub-second speed.
5.3. Cross-Scenario Performance Analysis
A cross-scenario comparison reveals several critical insights. First, the Fix-Grad
algorithm demonstrates exceptional robustness, consistently achieving 95.8% reliability
across all speeds and hysteresis conditions. Conversely, Global BO is most sensitive to
uncompensated hysteresis: in the LS regime, reliability drops from 93.1% to 88.9% (
−
4.2%),
and in the HS regime, from 90.3% to 88.9% (
−
1.4%), while its alignment time inflates by
92%, rendering it problematic without active feedforward compensation.
Hardware kinematics and hysteresis mitigation drastically impact throughput. Transition-
ing from low-speed to high-speed regimes accelerates Fix-Grad alignment by 14.6
×
(from 20.95
to 1.44 a.u. without hysteresis) and 21.9
×
(from 72.47 to 3.32 a.u. with hysteresis). Managing
hysteresis via the mandatory reset-to-zero strategy roughly doubles execution time across
all algorithms (detailed in Table 3). Importantly, despite this severe temporal penalty, final
positioning accuracy consistently exceeds 98%, validating the open-loop control architecture.
https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17050592