Method for manufacturing an optical printed circuit board assembly and printed circuit board assembly manufactured therewith

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical circuit board assembly having a plate-like substrate on which one or more optical waveguides are arranged along predetermined paths. The invention also relates to an optical circuit board assembly manufactured according to such a method.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an optical circuit board assembly comprising a plate-like substrate on which one or more optical waveguides are arranged along predetermined paths. The invention also relates to an optical circuit board assembly manufactured by such a method.

[0002] Such optical waveguides, also called optical waveguides, are fibers for transmitting light. Optical circuit board assemblies with optical waveguides can be manufactured very efficiently, for example, using printing processes. The optical circuit board assembly or the plate-like substrate used can be designed, for example, as a flexible substrate. A corresponding proposal is disclosed in DE 10 2009 057 713 A1.

[0003] The invention is based on the object of further improving the production of such an optical circuit board arrangement in order to make the production simpler, faster and more cost-effective.

[0004] This object is achieved by a method for producing an optical circuit board assembly having a plate-like substrate on which one or more optical waveguides are arranged along predetermined paths, comprising the following steps: a) Providing the plate-like substrate, b) producing a pair of boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces made of a dewetting material on the plate-like substrate along a predetermined path for a respective optical waveguide to be produced with a predetermined free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, c) producing an optical waveguide on the plate-like substrate by applying a core material of the optical waveguide in liquid form to the plate-like substrate in the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, d) Hardening of the liquid core material.

[0005] Advantageously, the material of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces applied to the substrate has a de-wetting effect on the liquid core material. Due to the resulting surface tension differences between the materials, the liquid core material contracts between the boundary lines to form a relatively narrow material web, so that a single application of the liquid core material can produce a material bead with a significantly greater height than with prior art methods. In addition, the liquid core material is specifically held in the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces and cannot flow undefined. The boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces can be slightly raised above the surface of the substrate.

[0006] The cured core material then forms the light-conducting core of the optical fiber. In a subsequent process step, the cladding material of the optical fiber can be applied to the cured core material. Once cured, this material forms the cladding layer of the optical fiber. The light is then guided within the core of the optical fiber via reflections from the cladding of the optical fiber.

[0007] UV-curing monomer mixtures, such as those consisting of acrylate monomers or epoxy acrylates, can be advantageously used as the core material. However, in general, any transparent, printable monomer mixture can be used.

[0008] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the following sub-steps are carried out in step c): c1) producing an optical waveguide on the plate-like substrate by applying a core material of the optical waveguide to the plate-like substrate by means of a stamp placed over the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, which stamp comprises the core material in liquid form, c2) Transferring the liquid core material from the punch into the space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces.

[0009] In this way, an optical waveguide can be very efficiently produced on a plate-like substrate of an optical circuit board assembly, e.g., by means of a printing process. The stamp can then be designed as a printing stamp.

[0010] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the stamp is wetted with the core material over a surface that is wider than the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces. In this way, a relatively large amount of the liquid core material can be transferred from the printing stamp to the substrate particularly well and quickly, since the transferred volume of core material depends essentially on the contact area on the stamp. The adjacent boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces can also be easily wetted with the liquid core material.Due to the dewetting effect of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, the liquid core material subsequently collects in a targeted manner in the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, whereby a core of the waveguide with a relatively high height can be generated relatively quickly, at least higher than would be possible without the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces.

[0011] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the surface energy of the substrate and the liquid core material is at least 50% as high as the surface energy of the dewetting material of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces. This allows the dewetting effect of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces to be further optimized. For example, a silicone-containing material can be used for the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces. For this purpose, silicones, e.g., acrylated polysiloxanes, can be added to a base material of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces.

[0012] For the dewetting boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, a material can advantageously be used that creates a contact angle difference α between the core material of the optical fiber and the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces such that α > β, where β is the contact angle difference between the core material and the substrate. For example, a difference of at least 15 degrees between α and β is advantageous. For example, α = 60 degrees and β = 45 degrees have proven to be effective.

[0013] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method produces at least one multimode optical waveguide with fewer than four printing processes. This is made possible in particular by the possibility of higher material transfer from the stamp to the substrate due to the limiting effect of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, as well as the increased contact angle that results. Due to the small cross-section, the production of a single-mode optical waveguide is not known in the prior art. By setting a small gap between the boundary lines, such a waveguide can be produced.

[0014] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the optical waveguide(s) are produced inside a multilayer optical circuit board assembly. This provides particularly good protection for the optical waveguides against environmental influences. It is possible to produce an optical circuit board assembly in which optical waveguides are produced in one or more superimposed layers. Accordingly, a complex optical waveguide conductor track structure can also be provided in the optical circuit board assembly.

[0015] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, several optical fibers are connected at connection points to form a common optical fiber. The method according to the invention can thus be used to create relatively complex optical fiber structures, e.g., to combine the light from several light sources optically coupled to the several optical fibers in the common optical fiber and thereby perform processes with increased light intensity, e.g., for a switchable spectrometer.

[0016] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the optical fibers are connected to one another as an optical bus coupler. With such an optical bus coupler, advantageous optically operating controls can be implemented. A large number of optical fibers can be linked in the optical bus coupler and thus connected to one another bidirectionally. Light that is radiated into the bus coupler by one optical fiber is re-radiated by all other optical fibers connected to it. Such a structure enables the connection of different optical devices that wish to communicate with one another optically. Such an optical bus coupler can be used, for example, in vehicles equipped with a large number of sensors. Due to the significantly increasing data streams, these can advantageously be connected using optical data transmission.With such an optical bus coupler, an improved bandwidth in data transmission can be achieved compared to daisy chain or master-slave arrangements.

[0017] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces and / or the optical waveguides are applied to the substrate by means of a printing process, in particular by means of the same printing process, ideally in the same production step. This allows for particularly efficient printing production of an optical circuit board assembly. Advantageous printing processes include, for example, flexographic printing, dispensing, and / or gravure printing.

[0018] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces are applied directly to the substrate or to an intermediate layer applied to the substrate. The intermediate layer can, for example, consist of a material suitable for the cladding of an optical waveguide, for example, the same material as the cladding of the optical waveguide applied to the core. The core can thus be surrounded both at the top and bottom by a suitable and, in particular, the same cladding material.

[0019] Flexographic printing is a direct letterpress process named after the use of flexible, raised printing plates. Flexographic printing is based on three cylinders that transfer the liquid material to be printed, e.g. varnish and / or polymer, to each other by rolling against each other at their respective contact points. These three cylinders can be, for example, an anilox roller, a printing plate cylinder and an impression cylinder. The anilox roller takes up a uniform amount of liquid material from a doctor blade chamber and transfers it to the printing plate cylinder. The actual printing plate is fixed to the printing plate cylinder. The printing plate has one or more printing stamps. After such raised printing stamps on the printing plate have taken up the liquid material to be printed, the liquid material is transferred when it comes into contact with the substrate to be printed, which is guided over the impression cylinder.The printed substrate can then be subjected to drying, e.g., using UV light, to cure the applied material. As mentioned, the material to be printed can be the liquid core material, the material of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, and / or the cladding material.

[0020] The object mentioned at the outset is also achieved by a method for producing an optical circuit board arrangement having a plate-like substrate on which one or more optical waveguides are arranged along predetermined paths, with at least one optical assembly (e.g. a submount) which is fixed on a substrate of the circuit board arrangement and is configured for light wave communication with at least one optical waveguide of the optical circuit board arrangement, comprising the following steps: a) Providing the plate-like substrate, b) creating boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces from a de-wetting material on the plate-like substrate around predefined mounting points at which mounting elements of the optical assembly are to be attached to the substrate, c) applying an adhesive material in liquid form to a respective mounting point, d) Place the optical assembly with its mounting elements on the mounting points moistened with the adhesive material, e) Curing of the liquid adhesive material.

[0021] The boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces are generated around the mounting points in such a way that the actual mounting points are not covered with the material of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, but free spaces remain there as previously explained with regard to the free spaces between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces for the generation of the optical fibers.

[0022] This has the advantage of enabling precise alignment of the optical waveguide core to the optical components of the optical assembly without the user having to perform active assembly. Rather, purely passive alignment of the optical assembly is possible through the surface tension differences between the mounting elements of the optical assembly and the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces. The material of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces acts as a de-wetting agent against the liquid adhesive material and / or the material of the mounting elements of the optical assembly, enabling an automatic alignment process of the optical assembly on the substrate in all three spatial dimensions.

[0023] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces are made of a dewetting material with a surface energy that is at least 33% lower than the surface energy of the substrate, the liquid adhesive material, and / or the material of the mounting elements of the optical assembly. This allows the dewetting effect of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces to be further optimized. For example, a silicone-containing material can be used for the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, as already explained above.

[0024] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the optical assembly, when attached to the substrate, is automatically aligned solely through passive self-alignment into a position defined by the design of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces relative to the at least one optical waveguide. In this way, automatic self-alignment of the optical assembly on the substrate is possible without active assembly. This considerably simplifies and accelerates the manufacture of the optical circuit board arrangement. The passive self-alignment is achieved due to surface tensions formed by the surface energies of the materials used. A suitable mass of the optical assembly, which makes the optical assembly buoyant, is also advantageous.It is advantageous if the weight of the optical assembly is low enough so that the liquid adhesive material is not displaced by gravity to the edges of the mounting elements and the mounting elements rest directly on the substrate.

[0025] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the at least one optical waveguide to which the optical assembly for optical communication is connected is applied to the substrate by means of a printing process. The printing processes explained above can be used for this purpose.

[0026] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the at least one optical waveguide to which the optical assembly for lightwave communication is connected is produced by means of a method of the type explained above.

[0027] The aforementioned object is also achieved by a method for producing an optical circuit board assembly having a plate-like substrate on which one or more optical waveguides are arranged along predetermined paths. Trimming the optical waveguide and / or boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces is performed by ablation using an ultrashort pulse laser, in particular a picosecond laser. The lateral precision is twice the wavelength of the ultrashort pulse laser used, and the processing speed is the printing speed, so that the processing can be integrated into a roll-to-roll setup. This method can be advantageously combined with the previously explained methods.

[0028] The object mentioned at the outset is also achieved by an optical circuit board arrangement which is manufactured according to a method of the type explained above.

[0029] The invention further relates to an optical circuit board assembly comprising a plate-like substrate on which one or more optical waveguides are arranged along predetermined paths, wherein the light-conducting core of one, several, or all of the optical waveguides is arranged between a pair of boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces made of a de-wetting material arranged on the plate-like substrate. The light-conducting core is thus bordered on both sides of the substrate by boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces.

[0030] The optical circuit board assembly can optionally have at least one optical assembly mounted on a substrate of the circuit board assembly and configured for optical communication with at least one optical waveguide of the optical circuit board assembly. The mounting elements of the optical assembly are bordered by boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces made of a de-wetting material arranged on the plate-like substrate.

[0031] The materials and / or manufacturing steps explained above can be used to create the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces.

[0032] Until now, it has not been technically possible to economically integrate, for example, a flexographic single-mode waveguide into an optical circuit board assembly. This requires innovations addressing four problems: 1. Flexographic waveguides have traditionally had to be constructed from significantly more than ten layers. This increases costs linearly with each layer. 2. Flexographically printed waveguides have a minimum base edge length of well over 100 µm. Therefore, they are not single-mode. For single-mode waveguides, this edge length must be reduced to below 10 µm. 3. In the prior art, the substrate was used as a waveguide cladding. However, commercially available printed circuit board materials are unsuitable as carrier materials for optical conductors due to their optical properties. 4. The optical transmitters and receivers must be precisely aligned with the waveguide, both spatially and in terms of their orientation, which is why conventional active assembly (alignment) is performed. Active assembly means that the transmitter and receiver units are operated during positioning, and the ideal contact is achieved through iteration at maximum signal strength. Since this is a complex process with many influencing variables, very complex measurement and alignment technology is required. Therefore, this type of assembly is cost-intensive and slow. A typical active assembly takes a few seconds to a minute. Passive assembly, i.e., assembly without inline signal measurement, requires only a few milliseconds and is therefore significantly more economical.

[0033] The invention makes it possible to create a printed structure for the simultaneous positioning and diameter reduction of printed waveguide cores, as well as the assignment of optical submount with transmitter / receiver to the waveguide core in an optical circuit board.

[0034] This is achieved by exploiting surface tension and wetting control using dewetting printed lines and / or areas. These structures have two distinct areas: 1. Dewetting boundary lines are printed for the printed waveguide core. This leads to a diameter reduction and enables, among other things, the production of printed single-mode waveguides with an aspect ratio of over 10%. 2. Structures for passive self-alignment along this printed structure in six degrees of freedom for the optical submount. The contact area of ​​the optical submount with the substrate is precisely enclosed by the dewetting area.

[0035] An adhesive is applied to the substrate contact surface between the printed structure for self-alignment. This adhesive can be conductive or non-conductive. Due to surface tension, the waveguide aligns in the X and Y directions along dewetting boundaries. Due to volume conservation, a layer thickness is established that depends on the amount of adhesive. This thickness defines the distance in the Z direction. Due to the non-wettability of the printed structure, the submount aligns along the edges of this structure. This is a result of minimizing surface energy. By means of this alignment at the outer edge of the printed structure, rotation around the vertical axis (Z axis) is regulated. Surface tension ensures a homogeneous layer thickness across the entire surface. By floating on the adhesive, alignment around the X and Y axes is achieved. The submount lies parallel to the substrate.By printing the boundary lines for the waveguide cores and the optical submount in a single step, an inherent spatial alignment is achieved, eliminating the need for active alignment. Using preconditioned flexographic printing, the waveguide thickness of flexographically printed waveguides can be increased by a factor of 3.5 to over 12 µm. This reduces the required number of printing units from 10 to two. This significantly reduces manufacturing costs, as a significantly smaller investment volume is required.

[0036] To solve this problem of the large number of printing layers, this invention now presents a two-stage process in which the production of these optical waveguides is limited to, for example, two printing layers. In a first step, two boundary lines are printed, which serve as the boundaries of the actual waveguide. A material with a low surface energy is used for this (dewetting flexographic printing). This ensures that an area is created that is less well wetted by the core material than the substrate. In a second step, the actual waveguide is printed between the boundary lines.

[0037] When the substrate and stamp come into contact, the substrate is wetted, and when the stamp and substrate move apart, two polymer reservoirs are created, one on the substrate and one on the stamp. This process is called ink splitting. Because it is a highly dynamic process, the polymer is distributed in approximately equal volumes between the stamp and the substrate. This process is independent of the substrate material and its wettability. Therefore, the stamp should be wider than the gap between the conditioning lines and thus also wider than the final fiber optic core, since the volume of ink transferred from the stamp to the substrate depends essentially on the contact area. Therefore, the conditioning lines are also wetted.However, due to poor wetting, the resist subsequently collects only in the gap between the two lines and the waveguide becomes higher than it would have been without preconditioning.

[0038] The optical circuit board arrangement into which this waveguide is to be incorporated can consist of a multilayer structure, which on the one hand consists of the substrate or the circuit board layers and the waveguiding structure. The optical waveguide, in turn, is composed of the core and the dewetting regions, and on the other hand of an upper and lower cladding. The core, which was printed between the dewetting boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces, can, for example, have a cross-sectional area of ​​less than 10 µm (single-mode) and more than 100 µm (multi-mode). Using the method according to the invention, the core can also be produced without problems in larger dimensions, for example with a width of up to 1 mm. The width of the core can, for example, be in the range from 10 µm to 300 µm, in particular 100 µm to 300. The individual layers are produced, for example, using flexographic printing.The circuit board assembly can consist of a copper-polyamide layer as a substrate, an epoxy layer as an intermediate layer and a cover layer.

[0039] To achieve perfect light coupling, both the transmitter and receiver must be positioned relative to the center of the waveguide core. Not only must alignment in X and Y be achieved, but the height in Z direction must also be controlled, as well as all three rotational degrees of freedom. This is where the optical coupling process differs from electrical assembly. When assembling electronic components, only the position in X and Y directions needs to be controlled. Z positioning is achieved via contact and contact pressure on the circuit board. The rotation of the components is checked using camera systems, but is not important within the scope of standard machine tolerances. The optical component cannot simply be placed on the substrate, as the optically active surfaces are usually on the side facing away from the substrate.Transmitters and receivers that have the optical surfaces on an outer surface still need to be positioned in the Z direction, as the waveguide end face does not align with the optical active surface. Therefore, in many cases, a submount is required to handle both positioning and rotation relative to the optical waveguide. This submount is then placed on the printed circuit board assembly. It must also be electrically contactable, as the light source or detector requires an electrical connection to the circuit board.

[0040] One possible technology for manufacturing such a submount is Mechatronic Integrated Devices (MID). The correct alignment of this submount to the waveguide is technically challenging. Here, the self-alignment achieved through the surface tension of the fixing adhesive is to be utilized. For this purpose, additional boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces are printed that prevent subsequent wetting with adhesive. These dewetting areas frame the contact surface of the submount to be placed. With the correct dosage of the adhesive and clean printing of this border, alignment in all three spatial directions, as well as the three rotational directions, can be guaranteed.

[0041] Building an optical circuit board assembly requires precise positioning of the individual components relative to one another. Self-alignment using de-wetting areas aligns the optical fiber to the submount, but the optical component—i.e., the laser diode or photodiode—must also be positioned on the submount. The submount must be populated before the submount is placed on the waveguide substrate, and this requires that the submount is manufactured with sufficient precision to allow passive positioning using position marks on the submount. This also requires that the optical component to be placed has been manufactured with sufficient precision. Generally speaking, the optical component must be positioned with significantly greater precision than the dimensions of the optical fiber.These considerations assume that the submount and the printed structures are also designed with a precision of less than 10 µm (single-mode case).

[0042] The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments and drawings.

[0043] It shows Fig. 1 the steps of manufacturing an optical circuit board assembly, Fig. 2 an optical circuit board arrangement in cross section, Fig. 3 an optical circuit board arrangement with an optical assembly in perspective view, Fig. 4 a lateral sectional view, Fig. 5 an optical bus coupler, Fig. 6 an enlarged detailed view Fig. 5.

[0044] The Fig. 1 shows, in step a), the provision of a substrate 1 of an optical circuit board assembly. In step b), boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 made of a dewetting material are applied to the substrate 1. In step c), liquid core material 3 is applied into the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 on the substrate 1 by means of a stamp 4, which is coated with liquid core material 3 on a raised stamp side, by means of a printing process. Due to the dewetting effect of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2, the liquid core material 3 contracts in the free space, even if the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 were initially partially wetted thereby. In a step d), the liquid core material 3 is cured to form a light-conducting core 5 of an optical waveguide to be produced.In a further step, the cladding that causes the internal light reflection in the optical waveguide can then be applied over the core 5.

[0045] The Fig. Fig. 2 shows a possible design of an optical circuit board assembly 12, in which such a printed optical waveguide 14 is arranged inside a multi-layer optical circuit board assembly 12. For example, a further material layer 8, e.g. a polyamide layer, can be applied to a base layer 9 of the circuit board assembly 12, e.g. a copper layer. A base layer 7 can be applied to the further material layer 8, e.g. made of the same material that is used for the cladding 6 of the optical waveguide 14. The boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 are applied to this base layer 7. In the free space between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2, e.g. according to the Fig. 1, the core 5 of the optical waveguide 14 is produced. The core 5 is covered by the cladding 6 of the optical waveguide 14. A covering layer 10, e.g., made of epoxy, can be arranged over this arrangement. The upper covering layer, e.g., made of PI, can be arranged over this.

[0046] The Fig. 3 shows an optical circuit board assembly 12 with an optical waveguide 14 located thereon or therein, e.g., a printed optical waveguide. It is assumed that this optical waveguide 14 is to be connected to an optical fiber 13 via an optical assembly 15, e.g., an optical submount. In this case, the most precise possible alignment of the optical assembly 15, and in particular of a light source arranged therein, relative to the optical waveguide 14 is of great importance in order to ensure efficient light wave transmission from the light source of the optical assembly 15 into the optical waveguide 14. According to the prior art, this required precise alignment was achieved by actively adjusting the optical assembly 15.

[0047] As in Fig. 4, it is proposed to passively adjust the optical assembly 15 by generating de-wetting boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 on the substrate 1, e.g. by a printing process. The boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 are generated from a de-wetting material on the plate-like substrate 1 around predefined mounting points 20, to which mounting elements 17 of the optical assembly 15 are to be fastened to the substrate 1. Free spaces remain between the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 for the installation of the mounting elements 17, e.g. mounting feet. The optical assembly 15 is connected to the substrate 1 by an adhesive connection using an adhesive material 18. In this case, the optical assembly 15 is aligned solely by passive self-alignment due to the surface energies of the materials used in the adhesive 18 and, if applicable,the mounting elements 17 and the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces 2 are aligned in a predefined position relative to the at least one optical waveguide 14. This ensures that the light source 16 of the optical assembly 15 is suitably aligned with the optical waveguide 14.

[0048] The Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show an optical bus coupler 18 advantageously manufactured using the technology according to the invention, which is arranged on a substrate 1 or an optical circuit board 12. The optical bus coupler 18 can combine a plurality of optical fibers 14, e.g., several dozen optical fibers, such that the light radiated into the bus coupler 18 by one optical fiber 14 is received and forwarded by all other optical fibers 14.

[0049] Using this bus coupler 18, numerous optical fibers can be connected bidirectionally. In this example, 27 optical fibers are linked. This configuration enables the connection of different parties that wish to communicate optically with each other. List of reference symbols 1 substrate 2 boundary lines and / or boundary areas 3 liquid core material 4 stamps 5 light-conducting core 6 coat 7 Intermediate layer 8 material layers 9 Base layer 10 Cover layer 12 optical circuit board arrangement 13 optical fibers 14 optical fibers 15 optical assembly 16 Light source 17 Mounting element 18 optical bus coupler 19 Adhesive material 20 Mounting point QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2009 057 713 A1

[0002]

Claims

[1] A method for producing an optical circuit board assembly (12) having a plate-like substrate (1) on which one or more optical waveguides (14) are arranged along predetermined paths, with at least one optical assembly (15) which is fixed on a substrate (1) of the circuit board assembly (12) and is configured for light wave communication with at least one optical waveguide (14) of the optical circuit board assembly (12), comprising the following steps: a) providing the plate-like substrate (1), b) producing boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces (2) from a de-wetting material on the plate-like substrate (1) around predefined mounting points (20) at which mounting elements (17) of the optical assembly (15) are to be attached to the substrate (1), c) applying an adhesive material (19) in liquid form to a respective mounting point (20), d) placing the optical assembly (15) with its mounting elements (17) on the mounting points (20) coated with the adhesive material (19), e) Curing of the liquid adhesive material (19). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces (2) consist of a dewetting material with a surface energy that is at least 33% smaller than the surface energy of the substrate, the liquid adhesive material (19) and / or the material of the mounting elements (17) of the optical assembly (15). [3] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the optical assembly (15) is automatically aligned, when attached to the substrate (1), solely by passive self-alignment into a position defined by the design of the boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces (2) relative to the at least one optical waveguide (1). [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one optical waveguide (13) to which the optical assembly (15) is connected for lightwave communication is applied to the substrate (1) by means of a printing process. [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the at least one optical waveguide (14) to which the optical assembly (15) is connected for lightwave communication is produced by means of a method according to one of claims 1 to 10. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat trimming of the optical waveguide (14) and / or boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces (2) is carried out by ablation using an ultrashort pulse laser, in particular using a picosecond laser, wherein the lateral precision is twice the wavelength of the ultrashort pulse laser used and the speed of the processing is the printing speed, so that the processing can be integrated into a roll-to-roll setup. [7] An optical circuit board assembly (12) comprising a plate-like substrate (1) on which one or more optical waveguides (14) are arranged along predetermined paths, wherein the optical circuit board assembly (12) comprises at least one optical assembly (15) which is fixed on a substrate (1) of the circuit board assembly (12) and is configured for lightwave communication with at least one optical waveguide (14) of the optical circuit board assembly (12), characterized bythat mounting elements (17) of the optical assembly (15) are bordered by boundary lines and / or boundary surfaces (2) made of a de-wetting material, which are arranged on the plate-like substrate (1). [8] Optical circuit board arrangement (12) manufactured by a method according to one of claims 1 to 6, in particular optical circuit board arrangement (12) according to claim 7.

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