Evolution of Fiber Arrays for Free Space Interconnect Applications

Photonics technology involving parallel processing architecture is becoming extremently important for large scale information movement. The obvious reasons are high bandwidth of optical media, the lack of light beam interference and the possibility of high density interconnections. Free space optical interconnection [1] [2] [3] offers the potential for large number of interconnections. Such free space interconnect schemes are being considered for large VLSI systems and photonic switching systems. These systems require fiber arrays for bringing in and taking out optical signals from the computing or switching environment. The positioning accuracies of the fibers in such arrays vary from one to ten micrometers (microns) depending on the systems’ architecture. In this paper, we will present the opto-mechanical challenges that are presented during design and fabrication of 2-D fiber input array, and alignment and attachment of microlens arrays to fiber bundle.