Flat Modular Boards Research Articles

Fabrication and integration of VLSI micro/nano-photonic circuit board

We report on the design, fabrication and integration of a modular system that we newly propose as “optical printed circuit board (O-PCB).” The O-PCB is designed to provide micro/nano-scale optical waveguides to perform the functions of transporting, switching, routing and distributing optical signals on flat modular boards or substrates that can lead to a platform for VLSI micro/nano-photonic integration. We fabricated and assembled O-PCBs using polymer-based optical waveguides, which we fabricated by thermal or ultra-violet (UV) imprinting using silicon masters. For nano-scale VLSI photonic integrated circuit applications, we used photonic crystal devices and plasmonic devices. We present the use of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) for optical characterization of micro/nano-scale photonic devices and also examine the effect of the waveguide surface roughness on the transmission characteristics of the waveguides. We present the results of calculation and simulation study that we pursue in search of scaling rules for the miniaturization and integration of waveguide devices, which we use as a guide for our design of VLSI waveguide circuits.