Fabrication and integration of micro/nano-scale polymer optical waveguides and devices for Optical Printed Circuit Board (O-PCB) application

Abstract

We report on the results of our study on the design, fabrication and integration of micro/nano-scale waveguide arrays and devices for applications for a modular system that we newly proposed and call optical printed circuit board (O-PCB), which we envision to use as a platform for VLSI micro/nano-photonic applications. The O-PCBs are designed to perform the functions of transporting, switching, routing and distributing optical signals on flat modular boards or substrates. We have designed and assembled O-PCBs using polymer-based optical waveguide arrays and circuits. We describe the procedures for the synthesis of polymers, procedures of forming masters and stamps, and procedures of forming waveguides using embossing techniques. We also describe the procedures of design, fabrication and construction of O-PCBs and describe the procedures for light coupling between light sources, detectors, waveguides and other functional devices. We also describe design of power beam splitters and waveguide filters using photonic band-gap crystals for VLSI photonic integration application. We also discuss the characteristics of the assembled O-PCBs and discuss their potential applications.