PCB with fully integrated optical interconnects

The increasing demand for miniaturization and design flexibility of polymer optical waveguides integrated into electrical printed circuit boards (PCB) calls for new coupling and integration concepts. We report on a method that allows the coupling of optical waveguides to electro-optical components as well as the integration of an entire optical link into the PCB. The electro-optical devices such as lasers and photodiodes are assembled on the PCB and then embedded in an optically transparent material. A focused femtosecond laser beam stimulates a polymerization reaction based on a two-photon absorption effect in the optical material and locally increases the refractive index of the material. In this way waveguide cores can be realized and the embedded components can be connected optically. This approach does not only allow a precise alignment of the waveguide end faces to the components but also offers a truly 3-dimensional routing capability of the waveguides. Using this technology we were able to realize butt-coupling and mirror-coupling interface solutions in several demonstrators. We were also manufacturing demonstrator boards with fully integrated driver and preamplifier chips, which show very low power consumption of down to 10 mW for about 2.5 Gbit/s. Furthermore, demonstrators with interconnects at two different optical layers were realized.