Arrangement for interconnecting an optical fiber an optoelectronic component

Opto/electrical connector apparatus for interconnecting an optical fiber to one or more external electrical pins of the connector apparatus, comprising

• a substrate having a plurality of electrical paths including contact pads photolithographically defined on a first surface thereof for mounting at least one flip-chip type optoelectronic component, said substrate including a photolithographically defined hole formed between a second surface and said first surface of said substrate, said hole and said contact pads being defined by matched photolithographic masks to achieve a predetermined alignment precision therebetween, said hole being used to accept said optical fiber;
• said optical fiber mounted through said hole in said substrate for coupling an optical signal directly to a surface of an optoelectronic component;
• said at least one optoelectronic component including on a first surface thereof a plurality of contact pads for mounting to matching contact pads on said plurality of electrical paths resulting in said optoelectronic component being aligned over said hole to enable the communicating of an optical signal to and from said optical fiber and
• said one or more external electrical pins having a first portion mounted on the first surface of said substrate and a second portion extending external to said connector apparatus for enabling direct external electrical contact to one or more electrical paths of said substrate for communicating electrical signals to and from said at least one optoelectronic component.