Passive assembly of parallel optical devices onto polymer‐based optical printed circuit boards

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the latest results from research and development into future optical printed circuit board (OPCB) interconnects and low-cost assembly methods.Design/methodology/approach - A novel method of high-precision passive alignment and assembly to OPCBs was invented and a full evaluation platform developed to demonstrate the viability of this technique.Findings - The technique was successfully deployed to passively align and assemble a lens receptacle onto an embedded polymer waveguide array in an electro-OPCB. The lens receptacle formed a critical part of a dual lens pluggable in-plane connection interface between peripheral optical devices and an OPCB. A lateral in-plane mechanical accuracy of +/- 2 mu m has been measured using this technique.Research limitations/implications - As this is a free space optical coupling process, surface scattering at the exposed waveguide end facet was significant.Originality/value - This paper details a novel method of passively assembling arbitrary optical devices onto multi-mode optical waveguides and outlines the procedure and equipment required. A lens coupling solution is also presented which reduces susceptibility of a connecting optical interface to contamination.