Design principles and realization of electro-optical circuit boards

The manufacturing of electro-optical circuit boards (EOCB) is based to a large extent on established technologies. First products with embedded polymer waveguides are currently produced in series. The range of applications within the sensor and data communication markets is growing with the increasing maturity level. EOCBs require design flows, processes and techniques similar to existing printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing and appropriate for optical signal transmission. A key aspect is the precise and automated assembly of active and passive optical components to the optical waveguides which has to be supported by the technology. The design flow is described after a short introduction into the build-up of EOCBs and the motivation for the usage of this technology within the different application fields. Basis for the design of EOCBs are the required optical signal transmission properties. Thereafter, the devices for the electro-optical conversion are chosen and the optical coupling approach is defined. Then, the planar optical elements (waveguides, splitters, couplers) are designed and simulated. This phase already requires co-design of the optical and electrical domain using novel design flows. The actual integration of an optical system into a PCB is shown in the last part. The optical layer is thereby laminated to the purely electrical PCB using a conventional PCB-lamination process to form the EOCB. The precise alignment of the various electrical and optical layers is thereby essential. Electrical vias are then generated, penetrating also the optical layer, to connect the individual electrical layers. Finally, the board has to be tested electrically and optically.

[1]  Paul Lambeck,et al.  Integrated optical refractometer based on waveguide bend loss , 1999 .

[2]  W. Marsden.  I and J , 2012 .

[3]  P. Kapur,et al.  Comparisons between electrical and optical interconnects for on-chip signaling , 2002, Proceedings of the IEEE 2002 International Interconnect Technology Conference (Cat. No.02EX519).

[4]  N. Takato,et al.  Polymer optical circuits for multimode optical fiber systems. , 1980, Applied optics.

[5]  Aaas News,et al.  Book Reviews , 1893, Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal.

[6]  Ali Adibi,et al.  45 Degree Polymer Micromirror Integration for Board-Level Three-Dimensional Optical Interconnects , 2009 .

[7]  Wolfgang Bludau.  Lichtwellenleiter in Sensorik und optischer Nachrichtentechnik , 1998 .

[8]  Yutaka Uematsu,et al.  Efficient power coupling between an MH LED and a taper-ended multimode fiber , 1979 .

[9]  Larry R. Dalton,et al.  Polymer-based optical waveguides: Materials, processing, and devices , 2002 .

[10]  P. Westbergh,et al.  High speed VCSELs for optical interconnects , 2012, 2012 International Conference on Indium Phosphide and Related Materials.

[11]  A. M. J. Koonen,et al.  Fiber to the Home/Fiber to the Premises: What, Where, and When? , 2006, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[12]  Ioannis Papakonstantinou,et al.  Transition, radiation and propagation loss in polymer multimode waveguide bends. , 2007, Optics express.

[13]  Hugo Thienpont,et al.  Development of a fabrication technology for integrating low cost optical interconnects on a printed circuit board , 2006, SPIE OPTO.

[14]  M. Hudson.  Calculation of the maximum optical coupling efficiency into multimode optical waveguides. , 1974, Applied optics.

[15]  C. Berger,et al.  Parallel optical interconnects in printed circuit boards , 2005, SPIE Security + Defence.

[16]  Felix Betschon,et al.  4.2 - Novel Optical Titration Sensor Based on Integrated Planar Polymer Waveguides , 2011 .

[17]  Roger Dangel,et al.  Design and implementation of an electro-optical backplane with pluggable in-plane connectors , 2010, OPTO.

[18]  J. Kivilahti,et al.  Fabrication of polymer optical waveguides with integrated micromirrors for out-of-plane surface normal optical interconnects , 2004, 4th IEEE International Conference on Polymers and Adhesives in Microelectronics and Photonics, 2004. POLYTRONIC 2004..

[19]  R. Beyeler,et al.  Compact electro-optical module with polymer waveguides on a flexible substrate for high-density board-level communication , 2010, OPTO.

[20]  Stephan Paredes,et al.  Mass production of planar polymer waveguides and their applications , 2010, OPTO.