Polymer Waveguide-Coupled Solderable Optical Modules for High-Density Optical Interconnects

To realize simple and low-cost VCSEL-based parallel-optical modules mounted onto a polymer-waveguide-embedded PCB in high density, we propose a new mounting technology using a guide pin-assisted optical coupling stabilization during a Sn-Ag-Cu solder -- reflow process. The guide holes of the 12-channel optical module and the guide pins of optical PCB are precisely shaped by a high-precision machining and photolithography technologies, respectively. The allowable optical axis displacement is +/-12 um in both x-and y-axes between the parallel-optical module and the arrayed polymer-waveguide. We fabricated VCSEL-based 14-Gb/s x 12-channel transmitter/receiver modules and 25-Gb/s x 4-channel transceiver modules based on the 12-channel packaging. The module was soldered on a polymer waveguide-embedded PCB to achieve a sufficiently low optical coupling loss. In the link tests, we successfully achieved a BER of 10^-12 for both 14-Gb/s x 12-channel and 25-Gb/s x 4-channel optical links.