Recent Advances in Board-Level Optical Interconnection

The potential of optical interconnection technology is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the introduction of “optical wiring” at the printed wiring board level (“last 1 meter area”) to overcome conventional electrical copper-based bandwidth limitations. The R&D status of optoelectronics system integration in Japan is also briefly introduced, and is followed by a review of optical surface mount technology (O-SMT), one of the possible solutions in this field. The development of sophisticated technology enabling high efficiency and alignment-free coupling between optical wirings and optical devices is found to be key to the practical use of optical wiring. A novel interface using an “optical pin” and a “self-written waveguide” is shown to be very promising for the achievement of optical interconnection technology.