Embedded planar glass waveguide optical interconnect for data centre applications

Electro-optical printed circuit boards (EOCB) based on planar multimode polymer channels are limited by dispersion in the step-index waveguide structures and increased optical absorption at the longer telecom wavelengths [1]. We present a promising technology for large panel EOCB based on holohedrally integrated glass foils. The planar multimode glass waveguides patterned into these glass foils have a graded-index structure, thereby giving rise to a larger bandwidthlength product compared to their polymer waveguide counterparts and lower absorbtion at the longer telecom wavelengths. This will allow glass waveguide based EOCBs to support the future bandwidth requirements inherent to large scale data centre and high performance computer subsystems while not incurring the same dispersion driven penalties on interconnect length or loss dependence on wavelength. To this end glass foil structuring technologies have been developed that are compatible with industrial PCB manufa cturing processes. Established processes as well as new approaches were analysed for their eligibility and have been applied to the EOCB process. In addition a connector system has been designed, which would allow optical pluggability to glass waveguide EOCBs.