Packaging technology enabling flexible optical interconnections

This paper reports on the latest trends and results on the integration of optical and opto-electronic devices and interconnections inside flexible carrier materials. Electrical circuits on flexible substrates are a very fast growing segment in electronics, but opto-electronics and optics should be able to follow these upcoming trends. This paper presents the back-thinning and packaging of single opto-electronic devices resulting in highly flexible and reliable packages. Optical waveguides and optical out-of-plane coupling structures are integrated inside the same layer stack, resulting in complete VCSEL-to-PD links with low total optical losses and high resistance to heat cycling and moisture exposure

Volume holographic interconnections with maximal capacity and minimal cross talk

Optical interconnections utilizing volume holography are described. Intrinsic cross-talk effects that limit the number of independent interconnections are identified and analyzed by applying coupled-wave analysis. Sampling grids for removing the first-order cross talk are presented, resulting in a system limited by second- and third-order cross talk only

Adaptive optical networks using photorefractive crystals

The capabilities of photorefractive crystals as media for holographic interconnections in neural networks are examined. Limitations on the density of interconnections and the number of holographic associations which can be stored in photorefractive crystals are derived. Optical architectures for implementing various neural schemes are described. Experimental results are presented for one of these architectures

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

Embedding of optical interconnections in flexible electronics

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Optically interconnected phased arrays

Phased-array antennas are required for many future NASA missions. They will provide agile electronic beam forming for communications and tracking in the range of 1 to 100 GHz. Such phased arrays are expected to use several hundred GaAs monolithic integrated circuits (MMICs) as transmitting and receiving elements. However, the interconnections of these elements by conventional coaxial cables and waveguides add weight, reduce flexibility, and increase electrical interference. Alternative interconnections based on optical fibers, optical processing, and holography are under evaluation as possible solutions. In this paper, the current status of these techniques is described. Since high-frequency optical components such as photodetectors, lasers, and modulators are key elements in these interconnections, their performance and limitations are discussed

Optical neural networks: an introduction to a special issue by the feature editors

This feature of Applied Optics is devoted to papers on the optical implementation of neural-network models of computation. Papers are included on optoelectronic neuron array devices, optical interconnection techniques using holograms and spatial light modulators, optical associative memories, demonstrations of optoelectronic systems for learning, classification, and target recognition, and on the demonstration, analysis, and simulation of adaptive interconnections for optical neural networks using photorefractive volume holograms