Discrete Out-of-Plane Coupling Components for Printed Circuit Board-Level Optical Interconnections

Abstract

Abstract-We propose discrete out-of-plane coupling components as a versatile alternative to current approaches used to couple light in and out of the propagation plane in waveguide-based printed circuit board (PCB)-level optical interconnections. The out-of-plane couplers feature a 45 micromirror and are fabricated using deep proton writing as a rapid prototyping technology. Their fabrication is compatible with replication techniques and shows all the potential of low-cost mass fabrication. In a first configuration, we use the component in a fiber-to-fiber coupling scheme. Coupling losses as small as 0.77 dB were achieved. In a second configuration, the out-of-plane coupler is plugged into a laser ablated cavity in optical waveguides integrated on a PCB. Here a total link loss between out-of-plane fiber and in-plane fiber of 3.00 dB was achieved when using it at the transmitter side and 5.69 dB when using it at the receiver side.

Enhanced pluggable out-of-plane coupling components for printed circuit board-level optical interconnections

“…12 We first characterize the component in a fiber-to-fiber coupling scheme. Here, the input fiber is a multimode silica fiber (MMF) with a core diameter of 50-µm and NA=0.2, and the output fiber is a silica MMF with 100-µm core and NA=0.29, mounted on a Hexapod six-axis parallel kinematics motion robot.…”

Organic solid‐state integrated amplifiers and lasers

“…For the realization of optical interconnects of particular importance are architectures that can provide vertical (90 ) out-of-plane coupling of light signals emitted by VCSELs into the polymer waveguides and from the latter into photodetectors. Such light routing becomes feasible either by embedding microprisms in PCB cavities or by suitably shaping the endfaces of the PCBintegrated polymer waveguides to form reflectors that can provide total internal reflection (TIR) [330,331]. Figure 43 shows an optical interconnect test module with fully integrated 45 mirrors, multimode polymer waveguides and assembled connectors that has successfully demonstrated a data transmission rate of 10.7 Gb/s [332].…”

Replication of deep micro-optical components prototyped by Deep Proton Writing

“…6 This enables the light propagating in PCB-integrated waveguides to be coupled out-of-plane by a 90 • deflection on the micro-mirror. Or, vice versa, enables the light emitted by surface-normal optoelectronic devices to be coupled into PCB-integrated waveguides.…”

“…The measurement results on the DPW prototype were included in the table for comparison purposes. 6 Notice that this loss includes the butt coupling from the input fiber to the PCB-integrated waveguide, propagation in the waveguide over a length of about 5-cm, coupling towards the out-of-plane coupler and from the coupler to the detector fiber. No index matching gel was used at any point.…”