An effective lateral fiber-optic electronic coupling and packaging technique suitable for VHSIC applications

As part of a project to develop a high speed (500 MHz) monolithic silicon fiber-optic digital receiver IC, we have produced a novel and practical lateral fiber-detector coupling scheme employing a 45° mirror fabricated on the end of the fiber. Coupling losses of 1.1 dB have been achieved. The technique shows its greatest promise at very high speeds where the IC interconnect issue is emerging as one of utmost relevance. In the work described here, the laterally coupled IC´s were packaged in high speed metal flat packs. This technique rendered a fiber-optic digital receiver compatible with two-dimensional layout techniques common in high speed electronics. However, the lateral coupler concept itself is not dependent on the use of metal flat packs. In fact, it is likely to find its greatest utility in the optical coupling of many fibers to a single IC. In this paper, system design considerations, fabrication techniques, and measured results for the lateral coupler concept are discussed.