Flexible optical waveguide film fabrications and optoelectronic devices integration for fully embedded board-level optical interconnects

Abstract

Abstract-This paper demonstrates a flexible optical waveguide film with integrated optoelectronic devices (vertical-cavity surfaceemitting laser (VCSEL) and p-i-n photodiode arrays) for fully embedded board-level optical interconnects. The optical waveguide circuit with 45 micromirror couplers was fabricated on a thin flexible polymeric substrate by soft molding. The 45 couplers were fabricated by cutting the waveguide with a microtome blade. The waveguide core material was SU-8 photoresist, and the cladding was cycloolefin copolymer. A thin VCSEL and p-i-n photodiode array were directly integrated on the waveguide film. Measured propagation loss of a waveguide was 0.6 dB/cm at 850 nm.Index Terms-embedded optical interconnects, 45 micromirror coupler, printed circuit board (PCB), poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), soft molding, SU-8, topas, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), waveguide film.

Thin‐Film Molecular Nanophotonics

“…Since optical interconnects are promising to overcome these bottlenecks [65,66], comprehensive accomplishments to implement optics into computers have been done [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74]. Figure 8.41 shows a concept of the 3D integrated optical interconnects within computers, which we expect to be the final goal of optical interconnects [12,52,[75][76][77][78].…”

Properties of the Optical Planar Polymer Waveguides Deposited on Printed Circuit Boards

“…In recent years high-performance electronic systems have highlighted the importance of developing new interconnection technologies to overcome the inherent disadvantages of copper interconnection technologies when operating at high data rates [1][2][3]. It is due to the continuous demand over the past several decades for increasingly high performance computers with more complex and integrated systems that has pushed traditional electronic interconnect links to their functional limits [4], [5].…”

“…Due to easy integration process with other optical and electrical elements, it would be convenient to realize the optical waveguides on silicon substrate [7]. Though integration of optical waveguides and opto-electronic components for on-board optical communications have already been developed using flexible foils substrates [3], [4], in the case of the optical interconnection it is highly desirable to realize optical waveguides also on printed circuit boards. For this purpose most often used substrates are "fiber reinforced board material electrical circuit boards" called FR-4; and for high frequency board are commonly used RT/Duroid high frequency polytetrafluorethylen (PTFE) composites reinforced with glass microfibers [8].…”

Polarization Converting Waveguide Devices Incorporating UV-curable Reactive Mesogen

“…As a crucial device for the polarization control, integrated optical polarization converters have been investigated based on various materials such as semiconductors, silica, and polymers [4][5][6]. The polarization converters with a thin-film waveplate inserted in the middle of a waveguide have been utilized in arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexers to reduce their polarization dependence [7]. The thin-film waveplate was prepared by stretching a polyimide film during the in-situ monitoring of the imposed birefringence [8].…”