Assembly development of 1.3 Tb/s full duplex optical module

A unique optoelectronic assembly has been developed for an optical module (OM) which allows for better than 1.3 Tb/sec full duplex data transfer into and out of a single ASIC die. The assembly process and initial system results are presented. The Optical Module assembly development focused on using standard semiconductor processing equipment and materials, wherever it could be done. Reliability tests, such as accelerated aging and thermal shock treatment, were performed successfully. The Optical Module components - an organic interposer (substrate), ASIC die, two 168-channel 1000nm optical dies (VCSELs and photodiodes) and two Micro Lens Arrays (MLA's) of 168 pixels each - are all assembled using flip-chip technology, allowing for a very high density data rate transfer. The assembly consists of five different flip-chip steps, followed by reflow or gluing and underfill. Flip-chip accuracy ranges from one to ten microns, depending on assembly step. Complete Optical Modules have been routinely assembled and tested in a small series production scale for more than a year now. These Optical Modules are a key component in the Compass-EOS all-optical backplane system. The Optical Module allows for total data transfer rate density of 67 Gb/s/mm² with Bit Error Rate (BER) <; 1E-12. This is the highest optical data rate transfer and density that has been reported to-date for a single ASIC die.