David R. Selviah

Variable focal length microlenses

Abstract Refractive surface relief microlenses (150 μm diameter) are immersed in nematic liquid crystal in a cell. Application of a variable voltage across the cell effectively varies the refractive index of the liquid crystal and results in a change of the focal length by the lensmakers formula (E. Hecht, Optics, 2nd edn., Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1987, p. 138). We describe the cell design and construction and demonstrate a range of focal lengths from +490 to +1000 μm for 2 to 12 V applied. A diverging lens results when the voltage is lower. Theoretical models are developed to account for some of the observed aberrations.

Variable-focus microlenses as a potential technology for endoscopy

Using a new device which contains an array of microlenses whose focal lengths can be electrically varied, we have been able to control the input from one microlens to a single mode fiber using an applied voltage. For such a microlens array many closely-spaced focal spots can be generated in parallel, and electrically switched to address, potentially, an array of receiver fibers. We show how the particular switching characteristics of the device, whereby the lenses switch from diverging to converging, serves in turn to disperse light and to focus it into the fiber.

Spatioangular multiplexed storage of 750 holograms in an Fe:LiNbO3 crystal.

We propose a volume holographic storage scheme, spatioangular multiplexing, which is a hybrid of both angular and spatial multiplexing. We describe the recording procedure, for a preliminary experiment in which 750 holograms were recorded (at room temperature) in a single photorefractive crystal of iron-doped lithium niobate and report the successful replay of all images with negligible cross talk and with an average diffraction efficiency of 0.5%.

Transition, radiation and propagation loss in polymer multimode waveguide bends

Design curves for insertion loss of multimode polymer waveguide 90 masculine bends are reported as a function of bend radius for several waveguide widths. For the first time, to our knowledge, in multimode rectangular waveguides the insertion loss is resolved into its components of transition, radiation and propagation loss, in order of decreasing strength, separating them from input and output coupling loss by calibration and comparison of experimentally measured and beam propagation method (BPM) modeled curves. We used the method of nested bends for the first time in multimode polymer waveguides to calculate the propagation loss on a small substrate without using destructive cut-back. The lowest loss of 0.74 dB occurred for a 50 mum square cross section, Deltan=0.0296, 13.5 mm radius waveguide bend.

Low-Cost, Precision, Self-Alignment Technique for Coupling Laser and Photodiode Arrays to Polymer Waveguide Arrays on Multilayer PCBs

The first, to our knowledge, passive, precision, self-alignment technique for direct coupling of vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) and photodiode (PD) arrays to an array of polymer buried channel waveguides on a rigid printed circuit board (PCB) is reported. It gives insertion losses as good as the best achieved previously, to within experimental measurement accuracy, but without the need for costly active alignment nor waveguide facet polishing and so is a major step towards a commercially realizable low cost connector. Such an optical connector with four duplex channels each operating at 10 Gb/s (80 Gb/s aggregate) was designed, constructed, and its alignment precision assessed. The alignment technique is applicable to polymer waveguide interconnections on both rigid and flexible multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs). The dependence of optical coupling loss on misalignments in , and of the VCSEL and PD arrays allows the precision of alignment to be assessed and its reproducibility on multiple mating cycles of the connector is reported. The first recorded measurements of crosstalk between waveguides when the connector is misaligned are reported. Lateral misalignments of the connector to within its tolerance are shown to have no effect on the signal to crosstalk ratio (SCR), to within experimental measurement accuracy. The insertion loss repeatability is similar to that of single mode fiber mechanically transferable (MT) connectors.

Real-Time Nonlinear Parameter Estimation Using the Levenberg–Marquardt Algorithm on Field Programmable Gate Arrays

The Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm is a nonlinear parameter learning algorithm that converges accurately and quickly. This paper demonstrates for the first time to our knowledge, a real-time implementation of the LM algorithm on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). It was used to train neural networks to solve the eXclusive Or function (XOR), and for 3D-to-2D camera calibration parameter estimation. A Xilinx Virtex-5 ML506 was used to implement the LMA as a hardware-in-the-loop system. The XOR function was approximated in only 13 iterations from zero initial conditions, usually the same function is approximated in thousands of iterations using the error backpropagation algorithm. Also, this type of training not only reduced the number of iterations but also achieved a speed up in excess of 3 ×106 when compared to the software implementation. A real-time camera calibration and parameter estimation was performed successfully on FPGAs. Compared to the software implementation the FPGA implementation led to an increase in the mean squared error and standard deviation by only 17.94% and 8.04% respectively. The FPGA increased the calibration speed by a factor of 1.41 × 106. There are a wide range of systems problems solved via nonlinear parameter optimization, this study demonstrated that a hardware solution for systems such as automated optical inspection systems or systems dealing with projective geometry estimation and motion compensation systems in robotic vision systems is possible in real time.

Planar optical implementation of crossover interconnects.

We propose a planar optical configuration for implementation of crossover interconnects. The planar overlay allows two-dimensional pixel arrays located on a wafer-scale integrated circuit to be interconnected in a compact and vibrationally robust configuration. By using an acute-angle microprism array with apex angles of 70.52 deg fabricated on a silicon substrate, we show the experimental result of the crossover interconnections. Some practical limits of the planar optical crossover interconnections are also discussed.

FirstLight: Pluggable Optical Interconnect Technologies for Polymeric Electro-Optical Printed Circuit Boards in Data Centers

The protocol data rate governing data storage devices will increase to over 12 Gb/s by 2013 thereby imposing unmanageable cost and performance burdens on future digital data storage systems. The resulting performance bottleneck can be substantially reduced by conveying high-speed data optically instead of electronically. A novel active pluggable 82.5 Gb/s aggregate bit rate optical connector technology, the design and fabrication of a compact electro-optical printed circuit board to meet exacting specifications, and a method for low cost, high precision, passive optical assembly are presented. A demonstration platform was constructed to assess the viability of embedded electro-optical midplane technology in such systems including the first ever demonstration of a pluggable active optical waveguide printed circuit board connector. High-speed optical data transfer at 10.3125 Gb/s was demonstrated through a complex polymer waveguide interconnect layer embedded into a 262 mm × 240 mm × 4.3 mm electro-optical midplane. Bit error rates of less than 10-12 and optical losses as low as 6 dB were demonstrated through nine multimode polymer wave guides with an aggregate data bandwidth of 92.8125 Gb/s.

Switchable fiber coupling using variable-focal-length microlenses

An array of microlenses, with focal lengths that can be electrically varied, can control the coupling of light into a single mode fiber using an applied voltage. We have examined this technology with a view to the design of a confocal microlens/image-fiber endoscope. Maximum coupling to the fiber was found to occur over a voltage range of ∼1 V and over an axial range of 1 cm. Contrast ratios between minimum and maximum coupling of up to 30 dB were demonstrated.

Optical 8-channel, 10 Gb/s MT pluggable connector alignment technology for precision coupling of laser and photodiode arrays to polymer waveguide arrays for optical board-to-board interconnects

The paper introduces a low cost, precision alignment technique designed to be unaffected by temperature or process variations in the thickness of the PCB FR4 board, the thickness of the lower cladding between the PCB board and the waveguide core, the thickness of the upper cladding above the waveguide core, the relative lateral position of waveguides across the PCB, and the axial position of the cut entrance and exit faces of the waveguide.