OPTICAL INTERCONNECT

• US 20120263415A1
• Filed: 01/06/2010
• Published: 10/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Tan, Michael Renne Ty, Rosenberg, Paul Kessler, Kuo, Huei Pei
• Granted Patent: US 9,011,020 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/33
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/30 for use between fibre and thin-film device
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/322 and having centering means being part of the lens for the self-positioning of the lightguide at the focal point, e.g. holes, wells, indents, nibs
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/34 utilising prism or grating G02B6/293 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/43 Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections

Abstract

An optical interconnect includes an optical fiber which terminates in a interconnect body and a micro lens which collimates light exiting the optical fiber to produce a collimated beam. A first personality module is configured operate on the collimated beam; the first personality module being aligned with and detachably connected to the interconnect body. The optical interconnect is configured to be inserted into a socket in an optical backplane, the first personality module being further configured to operate on light passing from the optical backplane into the optical interconnect.

Claims

1. An optical interconnect comprising:

an optical fiber;

a interconnect body, the optical fiber terminating in the interconnect body;

a micro lens which collimates light exiting the optical fiber to produce a collimated beam;

a first personality module which is configured to operate on the collimated beam;

the first personality module being aligned with and detachably connected to the interconnect body;

in which the optical interconnect is configured to be inserted into a socket in an optical backplane, the first personality module being further configured to operate on the light passing between the optical backplane and the optical interconnect.

2. The optical interconnect of claim 1, in which the optical backplane comprises a number of hollow metal waveguides, the hollow metal waveguides being configured to receive light from the optical interconnect and transmit light to the optical interconnect.

3. The optical interconnect of claim 1, further comprising alignment elements, the alignment elements extending outward from the interconnect body, through the personality module, and into receiving elements in the optical backplane.

4. The optical interconnect of claim 3, in which the micro lens comprises an injection molded micro lens array, the pins passing through the micro lens array such that the micro lens array is aligned with optical fiber.

5. The optical interconnect of claim 1, further comprising:

a second personality module configured to replace the first personality module, the second personality module reconfiguring a network architecture of the optical backplane; and

a node attached to the optical interconnect.

6. The optical interconnect of claim 1, in which the first personality module is configured to selectively direct a portion of light passing through the optical backplane into the optical fiber.

7. An optical interconnect system comprising:

an optical backplane;

a socket in the optical backplane which exposes optical channels in the optical backplane;

a interconnect body;

an optical fiber configured to be connected to an exterior node, the optical fiber terminating in the interconnect body to form a terminal end;

a micro lens configured to interface with the terminal end of the optical fiber to collimate light exiting the optical fiber to produce a collimated light beam; and

a personality module connected to the interconnect body, in which the interconnect body and personality module are configured to be inserted into the socket such that optical channels within the personality module align with optical channels within the optical backplane, the personality module being configured to receive the collimated light beam;

the personality module comprising an optical element configured to optically manipulate the collimated light beam and direct the collimated light beam into an optical channel in the optical backplane;

the personality module being further configured to be removed from the interconnect body and replaced by a second personality module with a different optical element.

8. The system of claim 7 in which the optical element is at least one of:

splitter/combiner, a spectral tap, modulator, switch, a beam dump, a pass-through, an area based tap, or a transmit/receive element.

9. The system of claim 7, in which the optical channels within the optical backplane are hollow metal waveguides configured to direct optical energy.

10. The system of claim 7, in which an architecture of the optical interconnect system can be reconfigured by replacing the personality module.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising index matched adhesive interposed between the terminal end of the optical fiber and the micro lens,

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising alignment pins extending from an interfacing surface of the interconnect body, the alignment pins being configured to pass through alignment holes in the personality module such that the personality module is optically aligned with the micro lens.

13. The system of claim 12, in which the terminal ends of the alignment pins are received by alignment holes in the optical backplane, such that waveguide segments in the personality module are aligned with optical channels in the optical backplane.

14. The system of claim 7, in which at least portion of a surface which interfaces with the upper portion of the personality module is optically reflective such that when the personality module is coupled with the interconnect body, a hollow metal waveguide is formed.

15. The system of claim 7, further comprising a waveguide T, the optical element being disposed at an intersection between the vertical and horizontal segments of the waveguide T.