Novel manufacture of out-of-plane optical interconnects to enable low-cost OECB substrates

Due to their bandwidth capacity, optical interconnects are beginning to replace bandwidth limited copper as bottlenecks appear on both inter-board, VSR interconnects and also inter-board, USR interconnects. Consequently, low-cost, optically enabled circuit boards are a key milestone on electronic roadmaps. Benefits exist in developing guided wave technologies, which have been classified into three generations. First- and second-generation technologies are based upon optical fibres and are both capable of providing a suitable platform for inter-board applications. However, to allow component assembly, an integral requirement for intra-board applications, low-cost third-generation OECBs containing embedded polymer waveguides are desirable. [Continues.]