Embedding of Optical Interconnections in Flexible Electronics

This paper describes the development of a flexible substrate or foil in which optical waveguides, light sources, detectors, and electronic circuitry are embedded. The generic technology offers an integrated solution to the increasing demand for flexible optical sensors and creates a technology platform for the establishment of flexible high-speed optical data connections, based on optical wave guiding layers. Patterning of the optical waveguiding is done using both a standard photolithography process and laser ablation. The resulting opto-electrical foil shows very good flexible behavior and low optical propagation and bending losses.