Packaging for a 40-channel parallel optical interconnection module with an over-25-Gbit/s throughput

NTT is currently working on developing a high-throughput interconnection module that is both compact and cost effective. The technology being developed is called “parallel inter-board optical interconnection technology”, or “ParaBIT”. The ParaBIT module that has been developed is the first step; it is a front-end module with 40 channels, a throughput of over 25 Gbit/s, and a transmission distance of over 100 m along multimode fibers. One major feature of this module is the use of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays as very cost-effective light sources. These arrays enable the same packaging structure to be used for both the transmitter and receiver. To achieve super-multichannel performance, high-density multiport bare-fiber (BF) connectors were developed for the module´s optical interface. Unlike conventional optical connectors, these BF connectors do not need a ferrule or spring. This ensures physical contact with an excellent insertion loss (less than 0.1 dB per channel). A polymeric optical waveguide film with a 45° mirror for coupling to the VCSEL and photo-diode (PD) arrays by passive optical alignment was also developed. To facilitate coupling between the VCSEL/PD array chips and the waveguide, a packaging technique was developed to align and die bond the optical array chips on a substrate. This technique is called transferred multichip bonding (TMB); it can be used to mount optical array chips on a substrate with a positioning error of only several micrometers. These packaging techniques enabled ultra-parallel interconnections to be achieved in prototype ParaBIT modules