Automated opto-electronic packaging for 10 Gb/s transponders

Integrated transponders are quickly displacing discrete module implementation in many 10 Gb/s line card designs. The emergence of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) standard had placed higher demands on manufacturing scalability to meet the volume requirements of this application. To meet these challenges, we have developed a novel automated manufacturing implementation of small form factor, high performance, and highly integrated uncooled optics. We describe the design and automated manufacturing of such modules, present their performance, and show how they enable the implementation of new miniature, low cost 10 Gb/s transponders.