Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser and its applications for optical interconnection and switch

A two-dimensional (2D) optical-parallel interconnection module was developed using vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) which have a low threshold, high temperature tolerance and uniform and effective fiber coupling characteristics. The 8×2 - arrayed VCSEL was self-aligned to a developed plastic-molded receptacle-type package using flip-chip solder bonding technique and a developed ball-guide die bonding technique. The module exhibited high data throughput of 1 Gb/s at temperatures up to 70°C, high optical coupling efficiency of 85.8±2.93% and high mechanical durability of less than 0.26 dB for 100 times of manual push/pull matings with a developed multifiber push-on (MPO) - type 2D fiber connector. As an application of the high-density, high-throughput an optical parallel interconnections, optical full crossbar switch with a simple architecture and fabricated plastic-molded optical crossbar connectors was demonstrated.