Dow Corning and IBM Scientists Develop New Materials for Board-Level Photonics

http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/8knews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20130204:nBw046015a

* Scientists developed a new flexible polymer material made of high-performance
silicone to create optical waveguides on printed circuit boards that can
withstand extreme operating heat and humidity with no measurable degradation in
performance.
* The materials can be fabricated into waveguides using conventional
manufacturing techniques available today.
* Board-level waveguides will help pave the way for the low-cost integration of
photonics in energy-efficient supercomputers and data centers.

SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--
Today at the Photonics West conference, Dow Corning and IBM scientists unveiled
a major step in photonics, using a new type of polymer material to transmit
light instead of electrical signals within supercomputers and data centers. This
new silicone-based material offers better physical properties, including
robustness and flexibility, making it ideal for applications in Big Data and for
the development of future exascale computers, which are capable of performing a
billion billion computations per second.

With exabytes of structured and unstructured data growing annually at 60
percent, scientists have been researching a range of technological advancements
to drastically reduce the energy required to move all that data from the
processor to the printed circuit board within a computer. Optical interconnect
technology offers bandwidth and power efficiency advantages compared to
established electrical signaling.

"Polymer waveguides provide an integrated means to route optical signals similar
to how copper lines route electrical signals," explains Dr. Bert Jan Offrein,
manager of the Photonics Research Group at IBM Research. "Our design is highly
flexible, resistant to high temperatures and has strong adhesion properties -
these waveguides were designed with no compromises."

In a collaboration with Dow Corning, the scientists for the first time
fabricated thin sheets of optical waveguide that show no curling and can bend to
a 1 mm radius and is stable at extreme operating conditions including 85 percent
humidity and 85°C. This new polymer, based on silicone materials, offers an
optimized combination of properties for integration in established electrical
printed circuit board technology. In addition, the material can be fabricated
into waveguides using conventional manufacturing techniques available today.

"Dow Corning`s breakthrough polymer waveguide silicone has positioned us at the
forefront of a new era in robust, data-rich computing, especially as we continue
to collaborate with outstanding industry leaders like IBM," said Eric Peeters,
vice president, Dow Corning Electronic Solutions. "Optical waveguides made from
Dow Corning's silicone polymer technology offer customers revolutionary new
options for transmitting data substantially faster, and with lower heat and
energy consumption. We are confident that silicone-based board-level
interconnects will quickly supersede conventional electronic signal distribution
to deliver the amazing speeds needed for tomorrow`s supercomputers."

A presentation (entitled Stable and Easily Processable Optical Silicones for
Low-Loss Polymer Waveguides) given here by Brandon Swatowski, application
engineer for Dow Corning Electronics Solutions, reported that fabrication of
full waveguide builds can be completed in less than 45 minutes, and enable a
high degree of process flexibility. Silicone polymer material, which is
dispensed as a liquid, processes more quickly than competitive waveguide
materials such as glass and does not require a controlled atmosphere chamber.

Swatowski`s presentation went on to say that waveguide builds based on the
silicone polymer showed excellent adhesion to polyimide substrates. It also
discussed how optical characterization of the new polymer waveguides silicones
showed losses as low as 0.03 dB/cm, with environmental stability extending past
2,000 hours exposure to high humidity and temperature, and good performance
sustained over 500 thermal cycles between -40°C and 120°C.

For a copy of Swatowski`s paper please visit:
http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/11-3377-01.pdf

About IBM

For more information visit www.research.ibm.com

About Dow Corning

Dow Corning (dowcorning.com) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve
the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in
silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than
7,000 products and services via the company`s Dow Corning® and XIAMETER® brands.
Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning,
Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning`s annual sales are outside the
United States. Dow Corning`s global operations adhere to the American Chemistry
Council`s Responsible Care® initiative, a stringent set of standards designed to
advance the safe and secure management of chemical products and processes.

A trusted innovation partner, Dow Corning Electronics Solutions helps customers
drive future developments in electronics markets such as consumer electronics,
data networking, electrical and conventional transportation, energy conversion,
LED lighting, and power electronics. Solutions span the entire value chain, from
semiconductor fabrication, to device packaging and complete module and system
assembly. For more than 70 years, leading electronics companies around the world
have turned to Dow Corning for high performance materials and technologies,
advanced application expertise, reliable supply and customer service around the
globe.

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Council, Inc.

Images: http://flickr.com/gp/ibm_research_zurich/67kqXx

Dow Corning
Mirella Kimpen, +32.64.888.413 (Belgium)
mirella.kimpen@dowcorning.com
or
Dan McCarthy, +1.413.448.2260, Extension 200 (United States)
dmccarthy@ahminc.com
or
IBM
Christopher P. Sciacca, +41.44.724.84.43 (Switzerland)
CIA@zurich.ibm.com

Copyright Business Wire 2013