DESIGN AND INTEGRATION OF MICRO/NANO- SCALE POLYMER WAVEGUIDES AND DEVICES FOR OPTICAL CIRCUIT BOARD APPLICATION

Abstract

We present a collective overview of our original work on the micro/nano-scale design and integration of optical waveguides and devices for application for an optical microsystem that we call “optical printed circuit boards” (O-PCBs). The O-PCBs are designed to perform the functions of transporting, switching, routing and distributing optical signals on flat modular boards. The optical boards consist of two-dimensional array of waveguides, which are attached to the electrical printed circuit board (E-PCBs). We fabricate polymer waveguides using thermal or ultra-violet (UV) embossing and imprinting techniques. The waveguides carry signals up to 10 Gbps per channel. We use microlenses and specially designed 45-degree mirrors to maximize the efficiency of lightwave coupling between the lasers, the waveguides, and the detectors. The waveguides are ended with 45-degree mirrors that are fabricated by one-stop embossing to reduce the processing steps and cost. The O-PCBs contain directional couplers, multimode interference (MMI) devices, wavelength and power splitters and filters. For VLSI photonic integration, we designed photonic crystals directional couplers and MMI devices. We discuss scientific and technological issues concerning the miniaturization and integration of waveguides, including scaling rules.