Electro-optical circuit boards using thin-glass sheets with integrated optical waveguides

The following paper presents research on the manufacture of circuit boards with buried optical waveguides using thin-glass sheets (display glass), which represents a further development of earlier research on buried optical waveguide substrates using polymer. An ion-exchange process was developed to manufacture the waveguides in thin-glass sheets, thereby eliminating the necessity of mechanically structuring the layers. The waveguide properties were simulated and experimentally validated. The circuit board assembly and the concept for the optical coupling from the module to the board and from the board to the backplane are presented. The design and assembly of pluggable electro-optical transmitter and receiver modules is described.