Low-loss Multimode Glass Waveguides with Beam-Expanded Fiber Connectors Enabling On-Board Optical Links

摘要： Ion-exchange glass waveguides are a very promising technology with a balanced trade-off between optical loss, integration density and fabrication costs. Graded-index multimode waveguides show low propagation loss of only 0.035 dB/cm at wavelength of 1310 nm in glass compatible with large scale manufacturing. For fiber cable connectivity, expanded beam connectors were used to terminate the waveguides by passive pick-and-place assembly, resulting in a coupling loss of ~1 dB per interface. Design and fabrication of glass waveguides are studied, and two-meter-long spiral waveguides along with 12 x 12 optical shuffle waveguide layouts made on a 9” x 12” area glass sheet are demonstrated experimentally.