The developing technologies of integrated optical waveguides in printed circuits

High density interconnect (HDI) printed circuits are now being designed in ever‐increasing quantities for very high‐speed applications. The challenge of opto‐electronics and integration of photonics into the printed circuit has started to take off. In the next 7 years, expectations are that photonic printed circuit boards will grow to a $2.5 billion industry. This paper looks at the issues, materials and current processes being researched by European, Japanese and North American organizations to create this integrated opto‐electronic circuit board. In addition to reviewing the global players in polymer photonics, this paper will review the current programs of four of the six groups globally, namely EOBC‐OptoFoil (University of Ulm, Fraunhafer Inst., Daimler‐Chrysler, Siemens), PolyGuide (Dupont, HP), TOPCat (NIST, 3M, Goodyear), Truemode™ (Terahertz), NTT and JIEP.