Optical pin interface for 90-deg optical path conversion coupling to Printed Wiring Board

Special attention has been paid to introduction of “Optical wiring” in place of conventional “Metallic wiring” in Printed Wiring Board level. High efficiency and alignment-free coupling between optical wirings and optical devices is a key in this field. This paper introduces a new optical interface applying “Optical pin” which has an analogy to electrical pins widely used in present electronics boards. Concept of optical pin enabling 90-deg optical path conversion is proposed and a preliminary experiment using a fiber optical pin is introduced. Then a micro optical pin fabricated by Self-Written Waveguide Technology using UV-curable resin is shown.