A parallel optical interconnect link with on-chip optical access

Abstract

This paper describes a complete technology family for parallel optical interconnect systems. Key features are the two-dimensional on-chip optical access and the development of a complete optical pathway. This covers both chip-to-chip links on a single boards, chip-to-chip links over an optical backpanel, and even system-to-system interconnects. Therefore it is a scalable technology. The design of all parts of the link, and the integration of parallel optical interconnect systems in the design flow of electronic systems is presented in this paper

Backplane photonic interconnect modules with optical jumpers

“…The jumpers can also be made from polymer optical fibers (POF). [5] On the backplane the light is coupled into the network of polymer channel waveguides which route the signal across the backplane to the output destination. Finally, the light is directed into the output optical jumper that forwards it to a photodetector assembled on another linecards.…”

Challenges for the introduction of board-level optical interconnect technology into product development roadmaps

“…The term 'long' in this context describes basically everything that leaves a box or a rack, while 'short' includes links on a single card or on the chip level. For the implementation of an optical card-backplane-card link, there are almost as many propositions as there are research groups active in this field ( [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], to just mention a few recent publications; for more references see e.g. [22] or [3]).…”