An opto-electronic hybrid integration platform with a polymer optical waveguide for high performance and low cost modules

An opto-electronic hybrid integration platform with a polymer optical waveguide was developed to enable fabrication of compact, low-cost optical transceivers in metropolitan area networks and access networks. The new platform consists of a resin insulator, to keep costs low and ensure high operating speeds, and a silicon substrate, for ease of fabrication and high heat conductivity. The optical waveguide in the platform also facilitates optical assembly and integration of optical circuit functions. Since the new platform includes both a waveguide and an LSI package function, various applications can potentially be considered. As a first application, we used the platform to fabricate a transceiver module for bi-directional transmission over a single fiber. The successful fabrication of this module demonstrates that the new platform can meet the requirements for operation with high speed and low optical loss.