Small profile, pluggable optical transceiver subassembly

A relatively small, pluggable optical transceiver utilizes a set of at least three separate printed wiring boards (PWBs), coupled together with a pair of flexible wiring boards, allows for the "middle" (base) PWB to be disposed in a horizontal plane, with the PWBs on either side (i.e., a transmitter PWB and a receiver PWB) to be disposed parallel to the base PWB, by virtue of using the flexible PWBs. Advantageously, the optoelectronic transmitter and receiver modules are directly connected (hardwired) to their respective, vertical PWBs, to form a rugged arrangement. Crosstalk between the vertical boards is reduced by using a shielding plate between the boards. Undesired fiber movement is reduced (as compared to the prior art) by separating the optical path from the electrical path, which also provides mechanical relief for the transmitter and receiver PWBs.