The Apollo Demonstrator - New Low-Cost Technologies for Optical Interconnects

摘要

New types of services, such as multimedia communication, video-on-demand, f etc, will require increased transmission capacity in transport networks, switches and access networks. Handling of vast amounts of data within the telecom equipment by means of traditional electrical technology becomes a very difficult and - at a certain point - an impossible task. Optical interconnects offer a possible solution, provided that the costs of introduction of this technology are affordable for both system operators and service users. The most serious obstacle to achieving a cost-effective total solution lies in the very high costs for packaging and alignment of optoelectronic modules and components, a problem that might be solved by using non-hermetic plastic packaging techniques. Other critical factors in future "fibre-rich" networks are easy installation and maintenance of optical cables and connectors. Some possible solutions to these problems, presented in the following, are fibres laminated in the flex-foils and polymer waveguides patterned on flexfoils or on printed circuit boards. The authors review some ongoing applied research (AR) activities at Ericsson aiming at reduced costs and enhanced performance of optical interconnects. They describe Apollo, an AR project for a complete subsystem of parallel optical interconnects.