Low-cost MOEM interconnect modules for Tb/s.cm2 aggregate bandwidth to silicon chips

We report on the design, the fabrication, the characterization and the demonstration of scalable multi-channel free-space interconnection components with the potential for Tb/s.cm2 aggregate bit rate capacity over inter-chip interconnection distances. The demonstrator components are fabricated in a high quality optical plastic, PMMA, using an ion-based rapid prototyping technology that we call deep proton lithography. With the presently achieved Gigabit/s data rates for each of the individual 16 channels with a BER smaller than 10-13 and with inter-channel cross-talk lower than -22dB the module aims at optically interconnecting 2-D opto-electronic VCSEL and receiver arrays, flip-chip mounted on CMOS circuitry. Furthermore, using ray-tracing software and radiometric simulation tools, we perform a sensitivity analysis for misalignment and fabrication errors on these plastic micro-optical modules and we study industrial fabrication and material issues related to the mass- replication of these components through injection-molding techniques. Finally we provide evidence that these components can be mass-fabricated in dedicated, highly-advanced optical plastics at low cost and with the required precision.