Data transmission through optical vias

1. A multilayer circuit board with optical vias for data transmission between two or more layers, the circuit board comprising:

a circuit board with two or more conductive layers separated by a dielectric layer;

an optical via configured to provide an optical transmission path between the two or more conductive layers of the circuit board;

a transparent conductive oxide layer deposited on a top layer of the circuit board, wherein the transparent conductive oxide layer is implanted with n-type impurities and patterned to form light emitting diodes (LEDs) about a region for the optical via to create a p-n junction;

an LED coupled to one end of the optical via and configured to convert incident electrical signals to optical signals; and

a photo-detector component coupled to another end of the optical via and configured to convert the optical signals to received electrical signals.

2. The multilayer circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent conductive oxide layer comprises one of SnO 2 , ZnO, and indium tin oxide (ITO).

3. The multilayer circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein the photo-detector component comprises one or more of a p-n junction photodiode, a p-i-n photodiode, an avalanche photodiode, and/or a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photo-detector.

4. The multilayer circuit board according to claim 1 , further comprising an electrical component electrically coupled to the LED and another electrical component electrically coupled to the photo-detector component.

5. The multilayer circuit board according to claim 1 , wherein the optical via corresponds to one member of an array of optical vias associated with the multilayer circuit board.

6. The multilayer circuit board according to 5 , wherein the circuit board includes a plurality of conductive layers and at least one of the optical vias is configured to provide data transmission between a top conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers and an inner conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers.

7. A method to manufacture a multilayer circuit board with optical vias for data transmission between two or more layers of the multilayer circuit board, the method comprising:

creating one or more regions of the multilayer circuit board for optical vias;

depositing a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer on a top layer of the multilayer circuit board;

creating p-n junctions about the one or more regions for the optical vias by implanting the TCO layer with n-type impurities and patterning the TCO layer to form light emitting diodes (LEDs) about the regions for the optical vias; and

creating electrical connections to the p-n junctions acting as the LEDs.

8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

depositing a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer on a bottom layer of the multilayer circuit board;

creating p-n junctions, in the TCO layer deposited on the bottom layer and about the one or more regions, to act as photodiodes for the optical vias; and

creating electrical couplings to the p-n junctions acting as photodiodes.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein creating the electrical connections to the p-n junctions comprises:

depositing a dielectric layer over the patterned TCO layer while leaving the one or more regions of the multilayer circuit board for electrical vias over the p-n junctions;

planarizing the dielectric layer; and

filling the electrical vias with a metallic material to provide electrical connections to the LEDs.

10. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

placing electrical components on one or more of the top layer and/or a bottom layer of the multilayer circuit board.

11. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

forming a p-n junction in an inner layer of the multilayer circuit board, wherein an optical via is configured to couple a top layer of the multilayer circuit board and the inner layer of the multilayer circuit board.

12. An apparatus to control manufacture of a multilayer circuit board with optical vias for data transmission between two or more layers of the multilayer circuit board, the apparatus comprising:

a memory with instructions stored thereon; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions, which in response to execution by the processor, cause the apparatus to:

create one or more regions for optical vias in the multilayer circuit board for data transmission between electrical components located on top and bottom layers of the multilayer circuit board;

deposit a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer on the top and bottom layers of the multilayer circuit board;

create p-n junctions about the one or more regions for the optical vias at the top and bottom layers by implantation of the TCO layer with n-type impurities; and

create electrical couplings to the p-n junctions, wherein the p-n junctions are effective to act as either light emitting diodes (LEDs) or photodiodes.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein to create the electrical couplings to the p-n junctions, the instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

deposit a dielectric layer over the TCO layer;

planarize the dielectric layer;

create the one or more regions for electrical vias over the p-n junctions; and

fill the electrical vias with a metallic material to provide electrical couplings to the LEDs.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

place electrical components on the top and bottom layers of the multilayer circuit board; and

couple at least some of the electrical components to the p-n junctions that act as LEDs and photodiodes.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the dielectric layer comprises tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS).

16. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the metallic material comprises tungsten.

17. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the electrical vias and the optical vias are formed in respective regions for the electrical vias and optical vias by one or more of etching and/or drilling.

18. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the transparent conductive oxide layer comprises one of SnO 2 , ZnO, and indium tin oxide (ITO).