The Silicon Wafer Integrated Fiber Technology, SWIFT, is a novel platform for the development of photonic devices. SWIFT is comprised of an optical fiber, specifically a D-fiber in this work, embedded into a V-groove etched into a silicon wafer. This provides a method to secure the fiber and allows the use of standard semiconductor industry equipment and techniques in latter processing for device fabrication. The SWIFT platform is used as the basis for the development of a polarimetric in-fiber electro-optic modulator. The modulator is based on the application of a nonlinear optical polymer, NLOP, film into the evanescent field of a D-fiber. In this way electric fields applied to the NLOP can be used to influence the light propagating through the fiber. The two initial processes in fabricating the modulator are accessing the evanescent field of the D-fiber and making a nonlinear optical polymer (NLOP) thin film. To expose the evanescent field the fiber is chemically etched using hydrofluoric acid. During the etching, light transmitted through the fiber is monitored for changes in power and polarization. The measured optical changes are correlated to scanning electron microscope images of the etched fibers to relate the etch depth to the changes in power and polarization. This provides an etching process that is controllable and repeatable. The NLOP films are made from a simple guest-host system based poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and dispersed red 1 azo dye (DR1), a nonlinear optical dye. The films are poled to align the dye molecules so that the polymer will exhibit nonlinear optical properties. The poled polymers are tested for second harmonic generation, SHG, to insure that they are nonlinearly optically active. Utilizing the SWIFT platform and the monitored etching process, fibers were etched to a desired 0.2 microns from the core on a repeatable basis. A nonlinear optical polymer was synthesized, formed into thin films, and poled. Nonlinear optical activity in the films was verified by SHG testing.

This paper demonstrates an approach for passive alignment and assembly of link components for board-level very-short range optical interconnects. This interchip optical link is based on planar polymeric multimode waveguides and glassbased electro-optical transceivers. The main aim of the work is the investigation of assembly processes of link components in order to fulfill the tolerance requirements using passive alignment. The optical characterization in regard to the optical coupling between link components will define the tolerances for the alignment process. This optical analysis is based on measurements of spatial coupling characteristics. The influence of assembly tolerances on the coupling efficiency is investigated. Flip-chip assembly of electro-optical devices on the glass interposer and of the glass interposer on optical overlay is presented to prove the implementation of the concept.

This paper discusses the technology development for integration of parallel optical interconnects on board-level, including the active and passive optical components as well as the electrical integrated circuitry. The inter-chip link is based on planar polymeric optical multimode waveguides with integrated out-of-plane coupling optics and optical transceiver subassemblies based on glass interposer. Integration of polymeric waveguides on flexible substrates will be shown since the realization of an overlay optical substrate enhances the yield and testability of the final hybrid electrooptical printed circuit board (EOPCB). Realized on-board waveguides feature low insertion loss (minimum attenuation coefficient of below 0.1 dB/cm). For short planar waveguides (Lwaveguide = 9 cm) error free transmission (BER < 10-12) up to 30 Gbit/s was achieved. The development of glass interposer passive optical coupling structures for VCSEL-based short-distance links will be described.