A low cost rigid-flex opto-electrical link for mobile devices

One 4-Ch × 2.5 Gbps rigid-flex opto-electrical link integrated with two connectors, one transmitter, one receiver, one rigid-flex PCB was demonstrated. One optical waveguide film was separately fabricated and laminated in the flex PCB, and the optical assembly tolerance of alignment system is maintained less than 5 urn. Optical coupling from optical devices of transmitter into the waveguides and transmit light through the waveguide to the receiver. The prototype was fabricated to be compatible with a conventional PCB process with high precision, and further has the advantage of a large batch of production to simplify the manufacture processes. The propagation loss of the waveguide was measured to be less 0.4 dB/cm after lamination, and the eye diagram of the 2.5 Gb/s data transmission rate is tested compliantly with eye mask margin.