DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A FULLY AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY SOLUTION FOR OPTICAL BACKPLANE INTERCONNECTION CIRCUITS

The paper presents the design and development of a new robotized assembly system of optical backplanes in high-capacity ICT (Information and Communication Technology) apparatus, mainly used for switching stations and distribution networks. The optical backplane solution consists of several optical fiber ribbons positioned on a planar backplane according to an innovative and optimized full-mesh layout where the overall optical interconnection is partialized into a plurality of different independent sub-circuits. Each optical interconnection sub-circuit consists of optical fiber ribbons with standardized optical and mechanical interfaces and customized components that have to be carefully and precisely assembled in order to achieve connections with low optical power losses. The paper describes the method and the main devices and tools conceived for the automatic assembly of optical interconnection sub-circuits, highlighting the critical aspects and the proposed solutions towards the automatized assembly of the whole optical backplane.