Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1530610
78 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2024 Dr. Steven Case of Avanti Optics Corpora- tion once advocated a new approach to pho- tonic assembly, based on the LEGO® brick principle. He compared today's erbium- doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) technol- ogy to the crude point-to-point wir- ing of early model circuit boards, which gave way to modern circuit boards that could be considered prefabricated interconnects. Optoelectronics' future solu- tions may involve silicon-based o p t ical mic ro -b enche s w ith component "onsertion" (place- ment from above) and ideal kinematic mount. Case pro- vided an example of such a c o m p o n e n t m o u n t : T h r e e V - g r o o v e s a t 120° angles in the base, The LEGO Principle of Optical Assembly matched by three ball bearings on the compo- nent mount. e prototype would be a fiber- to-fiber coupler (without fusion splicing, i.e., space gap). LEGO sets are great toys. I bought them for my sons. When I was travel- ing in Europe on business, I would bring back a box of advanced technics or the pneumatic cyl- inders from France or Germany because they weren't available in the U.S. e LEGOs are now in storage, waiting for the next generation. ey are never really obsolete. I have been adding some of the more recent sets, like Mindstorms® robots and their microprocessors. ey endure because of the modularity of their Happy's Tech Talk #36 by Happy Holden, I-CONNECT007