Abstract
We demonstrate a cost-effective embossing process for the fabrication of waveguide-embedded optical
printed circuit boards (OPCBs). The process involves the application of a polydimethylsiloxane mold for the production
of polymer waveguides on a copper-clad FR4 substrate followed by the conventional lamination process. The embossing
process is carefully tailored for the commercial polymer materials that are developed specifically to withstand the
high temperature and high pressure environment during lamination. With this process, we are able to produce
high-quality waveguide-embedded OPCBs with good repeatability. Our typical OPCB samples, each of which consists of 12
130-mm long fully embedded channel waveguides with a core size of approximately 50 × 50 μm and a pitch
of 250 μm, show an average optical loss in the range 0.16–0.22 dB/cm at the wavelength 850 nm.
The OPCBs survive the reflow process at 245 °C with a small change in the optical loss. The embossing process
can be readily integrated with the existing PCB manufacturing process and thus offers a practical solution to mass
production of OPCBs.
© 2013 IEEE
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