Polymeric waveguides for optical backplanes

摘要

Abstract: Organic polymeric materials offer great promise for the creation of optical guided-wave structures. We have developed a number of new polymeric compositions which can be used to fabricate optical waveguide circuitry characterized by low loss and high thermal stability (up to 75 years at 120$DGR@C for 840 nm wavelength). This technology makes possible the fabrication of complex point-to-point optical interconnections with controlled numerical aperture and geometry, allowing creation of right angle bends, splitters, combiners, etc. on a wide variety of substrates including circuit board laminate, silicon, silica, polymeric films and glass. To complement this technology, we have developed a unique capability for interconnecting glass optical fibers to multimode planar waveguide structures with low loss (0.5 dB per connection or less). As part of the FLASH program, we are utilizing this technology to construct a backplane which will incorporate multimode guides with both in-plane and out-of-plane bends, and which will be integrated with a connector to allow interfacing with glass fiber. We are also researching the implementation of single-mode guides employing our materials for possible future application.!4