Parallel optical interconnect between surface-mounted devices on FR4 printed wiring board using embedded waveguides and passive optical alignments

Mikko Karppinen; Teemu Alajoki; Antti Tanskanen; Kari Kataja; Jukka-Tapani Mäkinen; Pentti Karioja; Marika Immonen; Jorma Kivilahti

doi:10.1117/12.664386

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21 April 2006 Parallel optical interconnect between surface-mounted devices on FR4 printed wiring board using embedded waveguides and passive optical alignments

Mikko Karppinen, Teemu Alajoki, Antti Tanskanen, Kari Kataja, Jukka-Tapani Mäkinen, Pentti Karioja, Marika Immonen, Jorma Kivilahti

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Proceedings Volume 6185, Micro-Optics, VCSELs, and Photonic Interconnects II: Fabrication, Packaging, and Integration; 61850O (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.664386
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2006, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Technologies to design and fabricate high-bit-rate chip-to-chip optical interconnects on printed wiring boards (PWB) are studied. The aim is to interconnect surface-mounted component packages or modules using board-embedded optical waveguides. In order to demonstrate the developed technologies, a parallel optical interconnect was integrated on a standard FR4-based PWB. It consists of 4-channel BGA-mounted transmitter and receiver modules as well as of four polymer multimode waveguides fabricated on top of the PWB using lithographic patterning. The transmitters and receivers built on low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrates include flip-chip mounted VCSEL or photodiode array and 4x10 Gb/s driver or receiver IC. Two microlens arrays and a surface-mounted micro-mirror enable optical coupling between the optoelectronic device and the waveguide array. The optical alignment is based on the marks and structures fabricated in both the LTCC and optical waveguide processes. The structures were optimized and studied by the use of optical tolerance analyses based on ray tracing. The characterized optical alignment tolerances are in the limits of the accuracy of the surface-mount technology.

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Mikko Karppinen, Teemu Alajoki, Antti Tanskanen, Kari Kataja, Jukka-Tapani Mäkinen, Pentti Karioja, Marika Immonen, and Jorma Kivilahti "Parallel optical interconnect between surface-mounted devices on FR4 printed wiring board using embedded waveguides and passive optical alignments", Proc. SPIE 6185, Micro-Optics, VCSELs, and Photonic Interconnects II: Fabrication, Packaging, and Integration, 61850O (21 April 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.664386

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