# US 11,443,998 B2 · Electronic assembly including optical modules > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,443,998 B2 - Document ID: US11443998B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/869,888 - Filed: 2020-05-08 - Published: 2020-12-10 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2019-06-05 - Assignees: TE Connectivity Solutions GmbH - Applicants: Te Connectivity Corporation - Inventors: Christopher William Blackburn; Jeffery Walter Mason; Nathan Lincoln Tracy; Clarence Leon Yu; Michael David Herring - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11443998B2 ## CPC - G02B 6/4278: {related to pluggable or demountable opto-electronic or electronic elements} - H10W 78/00: Detachable holders for supporting packaged chips in operation - G02B 6/4269: {with heat sinks or radiation fins} - G02B 6/428: {containing printed circuit boards [PCB]} - H01R 12/7076: {for connection between PCB and component, e.g. display} - H01R 12/85: contact pressure producing means, contacts activated after insertion of printed circuits or like structures - H10W 40/22: characterised by their shape, e.g. having conical or cylindrical projections - G02B 6/4249: {comprising arrays of active devices and fibres} - H10W 40/611: {Bolts or screws} - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS - H10W: GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - H01R: ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS ## Abstract An electronic assembly includes an electronic package including a package substrate and an integrated circuit component mounted to an upper surface. The electronic package includes upper package contacts electrically connected to the integrated circuit component. The electronic assembly includes an interposer assembly including an array of compressible interposer contacts each having upper and lower mating interfaces. The interposer assembly defining a separable interface. The electronic assembly includes optical modules coupled to the separable interface of the interposer assembly and having an optical module substrate having module contacts and an optical engine mounted to the optical module substrate electrically connected to the module contacts. The optical module is mounted to the interposer assembly such that the module contacts are electrically connected to the upper mating interfaces of the interposer contacts. Each optical module includes at least one optical fiber terminated to the optical engine. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic assembly comprising: an electronic package including a package substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface, the electronic package including an integrated circuit component mounted to the upper surface of the package substrate, the electronic package includes lower package contacts electrically connected to the integrated circuit component and configured to be electrically connected to a host circuit board, the electronic package includes upper package contacts electrically connected to the integrated circuit component; at least one interposer assembly including an array of interposer contacts, the interposer contacts being compressible, each interposer contact having an upper mating interface and a lower mating interface, the lower mating interfaces of the interposer contacts are mated with the upper package contacts, the interposer assembly defining a separable interface; and optical modules coupled to the separable interface of the at least one interposer assembly, each optical module including an optical module substrate having module contacts and an optical engine mounted to the optical module substrate electrically connected to the module contacts, the optical modules being mounted to the at least one interposer assembly such that the module contacts are electrically connected to the upper mating interfaces of the at least one interposer contacts, the optical modules being separately removable from the at least one interposer assembly, each optical module including at least one optical fiber terminated to the optical engine. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the interposer contacts comprise conductive polymer columns held in the array by a support plate, the upper mating interfaces being located above the support plate, the lower mating interfaces being located below the support plate. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper mating interfaces are compressible and the lower mating interfaces are compressible. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the interposer contacts include deflectable spring beams. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the interposer assembly includes an interposer frame holding a support plate, the support plate holding each of the interposer contacts in the array, the interposer frame including lower locating pins engaging the package substrate to locate the interposer assembly relative to the upper package contacts, the interposer frame including upper locating pins engaging the optical module to locate the optical module relative to the interposer contacts. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The electronic assembly of claim 5, wherein the optical module includes an optical module housing holding the optical engine and the optical module substrate, the optical module housing engaging the upper locating pins to locate the optical module substrate relative to the interposer contacts. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the optical module includes an optical module heatsink engaging and dissipating heat from the optical engine. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The electronic assembly of claim 7, further comprising a heat spreader engaging the optical module heat sinks of each of the optical modules. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The electronic assembly of claim 7, wherein the optical module heatsink includes a plurality of plates at a top of the optical module. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The electronic assembly of claim 7, wherein the heat sink includes a compressible thermal interface. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, further comprising optical module compression members coupled to the optical modules, the optical module compression members compressing the interposer contacts between the optical modules in the electronic package. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The electronic assembly of claim 11, wherein the optical module compression member includes a spring clip including an upper arm and a lower arm, the upper arm engaging the optical module, the lower arm engaging the lower surface of the package substrate to compress the optical module against the interposer contacts. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The electronic assembly of claim 11, wherein the optical module compression member includes a compression plate and compression hardware engaging and pressing the compression plate downward onto the optical module. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The electronic assembly of claim 11, wherein the optical module compression member includes a spring element and compression hardware engaging the spring element and pressing the spring element downward into the optical module. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The electronic assembly of claim 11, further comprising a compression assembly including a load plate mounted to the electronic assembly, the compression assembly including a compression member engaging the load plate to press the load plate downward into the optical modules independent of the optical module compression members. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one interposer assembly includes a plurality of interposer assemblies, each interposer assembly receiving a corresponding optical module. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the package substrate includes edges around the perimeter of the package substrate, the package substrate including mounting areas between the integrated circuit and the edges, each mating area receiving a plurality of the optical modules. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein each optical module includes a front, a rear, a top, a bottom, and sides extending between the front and the rear, the optical modules being arranged in optical module sets, the optical fibers extending from the rears of the optical modules, the optical fibers of each optical module within the optical module set extending in a common direction, the fronts of each optical module within the optical module set being aligned, the sides of the optical modules within the optical module set facing each other. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The electronic assembly of claim 1, further comprising a compression assembly including a load plate mounted to the electronic assembly, the compression assembly including a compression member engaging the load plate to press the load plate downward, the load plate compressing the optical modules downward into the at least one interposer assembly. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The electronic assembly of claim 19, wherein the load plate includes a heat spreader thermally coupled to each of the optical modules, the heat spreader being thermally coupled to the integrated circuit component.