Implementing enhanced optical mirror coupling and alignment utilizing two-photon resist

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8968987-B2
Application number	US-201213347779-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 11, 2012
Priority date	Jan 11, 2012
Publication date	Mar 3, 2015
Grant date	Mar 3, 2015

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for implementing an enhanced optical mirror coupling and alignment mechanism utilizing two-photon resist. An initial placement is provided for one or more vias on a printed circuit board. A via is filled with a resist. A series of tightly focused light beams suitably exposes the resist at varying depths in the via, the varying depths defining a sloped polymer in the via after removing resist that had not been at the focus of the light beam. The sloped polymer is coated with reflective material to reflect light into or out of the via.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for implementing enhanced optical mirror coupling and alignment in a printed circuit board comprising:
identifying an initial via placement for one or more vias in the printed circuit board;
filling a via with a resist;
using the via for providing enhanced optical mirror coupling and alignment in the printed circuit board by defining a sloped polymer bridge across the via by exposing the resist at varying depths in the via with a series of tightly focused light beams and removing the resist outside of the sloped polymer bridge defined by the exposure; and
coating one side of the sloped polymer bridge with a reflective material and providing an opposite side of the sloped polymer without plating, allowing the reflection of light to or from a waveguide through the reflective material formed in the via.

2. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein filling a via with a resist includes filling said via with a two-photon absorption (TPA) photoresist.

3. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 2 wherein defining a sloped polymer bridge across the via includes curing said two-photon absorption (TPA) photoresist with said series of tightly focused light beams to selectively polymerize the resist in the via.

4. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein exposing the resist at varying depths in the via with a series of tightly focused light beams includes applying a beam emitted from a laser.

5. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 4 wherein applying a beam emitted from a laser includes scanning a tightly focused laser beam across the via exposing the resist.

6. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein coating one side of the sloped polymer bridge with a reflective material and providing an opposite side of the sloped polymer bridge without plating, allowing the reflection of light to or from a waveguide through the reflective material formed in the via includes plating one side of the sloped polymer bridge.

Assignees

• Atta Emmanuel
• Berger Darcy
• Dangler John R
• Doyle Matthew S
• Hefner Jesse
• Liang Thomas W
• IBM

Inventors

• Atta Emmanuel
• Berger Darcy
• Dangler John R
• Doyle Matthew S
• Hefner Jesse
• Liang Thomas W

Classifications

• B05D5/063 Primary

  Reflective effect (B05D5/067 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B6/34

  utilising prism or grating {(G02B6/293 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• H05K1/0274 Primary

  Optical details, e.g. printed circuits comprising integral optical means (H05K1/0269 takes precedence; coupling light guides with opto-electronic components G02B6/42) · CPC title

• H05K2201/09063

  Holes or slots in insulating substrate not used for electrical connections · CPC title

• H05K2201/09827

  Tapered, e.g. tapered hole, via or groove · CPC title