Apparatus for fabricating optical backplanes

摘要

An apparatus routes an optical fiber from a supply thereof onto a surface of a substrate which may have an adhesive thereon. A routing head is movable over the surface of the substrate in a given circuit pattern. Drive rollers feed the optical fiber from the supply to the routing head. A feed needle on the routing head receives the optical fiber from the drive rollers and lays the fiber onto the surface of the substrate at an angle thereto as the routing head moves thereover. The inherent stiffness of the angled optical fiber biases the fiber against the adhesive on the surface of the substrate as the fiber is layed onto the surface in the given circuit pattern.