Out-of-plane coupling structures for optical printed circuit boards

We present an integrated total internal reflection mirror and pluggable coupler that can be used for out-of-plane coupling in an optical PCB. The coupling efficiency of both mirror configurations is measured and compared

Embedded 45° micro-mirror for out-of-plane coupling in optical PCBs

We present an embedded 45° micro-mirror that can be used to couple light out-of-plane of the optical layer. The discrete micro-mirror is inserted in a micro-cavity into the optical layer. Loss measurements at receiver side show a mirror loss as low as 0.35dB

Reconfigurable interconnects in DSM systems: a focus on context switch behavior

Recent advances in the development of reconfigurable optical interconnect technologies allow for the fabrication of low cost and run-time adaptable interconnects in large distributed shared-memory (DSM) multiprocessor machines. This can allow the use of adaptable interconnection networks that alleviate the huge bottleneck present due to the gap between the processing speed and the memory access time over the network. In this paper we have studied the scheduling of tasks by the kernel of the operating system (OS) and its influence on communication between the processing nodes of the system, focusing on the traffic generated just after a context switch. We aim to use these results as a basis to propose a potential reconfiguration of the network that could provide a significant speedup

Towards Low Cost Coupling Structures for Short-Distance Optical Interconnections

The performance of short distance optical interconnections in general relies very strongly on coupling structures, since they will determine the overall efficiency of the system to a large extent. Different configurations can be considered and a variety of manufacturing technologies can be used. We present two different discrete and two different integrated coupling components which can be used to deflect the light beam over 90 degrees and can play a crucial role when integrating optical interconnections in printed circuit boards. The fabrication process of the different coupling structures is discussed and experimental results are shown. The main characteristics of the coupling structures are given. The main advantages and disadvantages of the different components are discussed

Opto-PCB: Three demonstrators for optical interconnections

We report on a research project targeting optical waveguide integrated PCBs conducted within the European FP6 Network of Excellence on Micro-Optics NEMO. For three identified feature requests we have built three specific demonstrators respectively addressing the integration of active components, the fabrication of peripheral fibre ribbons and the integration of multiple layers of waveguides on the board