Application-specific optoelectronic packaging

The rapid expansion of optical networks has stimulated the development of new types of optoelectronic devices, and assembly automation is seen as a requirement to achieve cost-effective solutions. This leads to the need for new optoelectronic packaging technologies. A new package design (named ClamShell), developed by Kyocera Corporation, allows the use of automated equipment for the full sequence of optoelectronic component assembly operations and provides a method of hermetic sealing of optical fibers and fiber arrays. The electrical interconnect at the board level is facilitated by the use of an electrical interposer. This avoids all of the manual operations involved in lead trimming/forming and soldering to the board, and it facilitates board rework. This approach provides the ability to execute high-speed electrical transitions between the system board and the semiconductor devices in the optoelectronic components/modules. The paper also describes design approaches for simplified thermal management in convection-cooled systems.