Abstract

The introduction of optical interconnects for electronic packaging promises to make a major contribution to high speed systems from the standpoint of increased bandwidth, lower capacitance, and lower power requirements. Low optical loss polymer systems show considerable promise for the fabrication of low cost waveguide structures. In order to be implemented in commercial products, the waveguide system must be capable of withstanding the assembly operations that are used in current production processes, where temperatures up to 350 °C may be experienced fro short periods of time. Polyimide resins are an accepted class of polymers in the microelectronics industry due to their high thermal stability (>400 °C) and outstanding dielectric and mechanical properties. Recently, a new type of fluorinated polyimide[1,2] copolymers has been introduced by Hitachi Chemical that feature low optical attenuation, a broad range of refractive index control, and high temperature stability. These resins are designated OPI and have been used to fabricate low loss single mode channel waveguides that have been characterized optically at 830 and 1300 nm. We wish to report on these results.

© 1993 Optical Society of America