High-reliability flexible optical printed circuit board for opto-electric interconnections

A rigid flexible optical electrical printed circuit board (RFOE-PCB) with both electrical layers and an optical layer was fabricated using a conventional PCB manufacture process. The RFOE-PCB is applicable to fold-type mobile devices such as mobile phones and laptop computers. The RFOE-PCB was designed to be embedded with a flexible 45-deg-ended optical waveguide, which was made using a polymeric material. The precise lamination between an electrical layer and an optical layer was achieved by a passive alignment method. We carried out the repetitive folding test and an environment test for physical and optical reliability suitable for mobile devices. Data transmission of 2.5 Gb/s was demonstrated with a clear eye diagram using the fabricated RFOE-PCB. (C) 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [DOI: 10.1117/1.3072957]