Design, implementation, and characterization of a kinematically aligned, cascaded spotarray generator for a modulator-based free-space optical interconnect

The design and the implementation of a modular spot-array generator for a modulator-based free-space optical interconnect is presented. Two cascaded diffractive optical elements produce 4 × 8 clusters on a 1600 µm × 800 µm pitch, where each cluster is a 4 × 4 array of (1/e²) 13.1-µm-radius spots on a 90-µm pitch. The spot-array generator is kinematically aligned to the interconnect system such that no realignment is necessary between removal and reinsertion. Characterization results are presented. © 2000 Optical Society of America.