Cascaded Microresonator-Based Matrix Switch for Silicon On-Chip Optical Interconnection

This paper reviews developments in cascaded microresonator-based matrix switches for silicon photonic interconnection networks in many-core computing applications. Specifically, we emphasize our recently proposed 5 times 5 matrix switch comprising two-dimensionally cascaded microring resonator-based electrooptic switches coupled to a waveguide cross-grid on a silicon chip. The cross-grid adopts low-loss low-crosstalk multimode-interference-based waveguide crossings. Such a microresonator-based matrix switch offers nonblocking interconnections among multiple inputs and multiple outputs, with the key merits of i) a tens to hundreds of micrometers-scale footprint, ii) gigabit/second-scale data transmission, iii) nanosecond-speed circuit-switching, iv) 100-muW-scale DC power consumption per link, and v) large-scale integration for networks-on-chips applications. We analyze in detail the microring resonator-based cross-grid switch design for high-data-rate signal transmission in the context of our proposed 5 times 5 matrix switch. We also study the feasibility of large-scale integration of the matrix switch. We report proof-of-concept experiments of a single cross-grid switch element and a 2 times 2 matrix switch, propose design guidelines, and discuss future engineering challenges.

[1]  T. Shoji,et al.  Microphotonics devices based on silicon microfabrication technology , 2005, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[2]  Hui Chen,et al.  Microring-Resonator Cross-Connect Filters in Silicon Nitride: Rib Waveguide Dimensions Dependence , 2006, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[3]  Yasuo Kokubun,et al.  Optical cross-connect circuit using hitless wavelength selective switch. , 2008, Optics express.

[4]  S Fan,et al.  Elimination of cross talk in waveguide intersections. , 1998, Optics letters.

[5]  Linjie Zhou,et al.  Silicon electro-optic modulators using p-i-n diodes embedded 10-micron-diameter microdisk resonators. , 2006, Optics express.

[6]  D. Van Thourhout,et al.  Low-loss SOI photonic wires and ring resonators fabricated with deep UV lithography , 2004, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[7]  Philippe Lyan,et al.  Low loss and high speed silicon optical modulator based on a lateral carrier depletion structure. , 2008, Optics express.

[8]  Michal Lipson,et al.  PINIP based high-speed high-extinction ratio micron-size silicon electrooptic modulator. , 2007, Optics express.

[9]  Michal Lipson,et al.  Overcoming the limitations of microelectronics using Si nanophotonics: solving the coupling, modulation and switching challenges , 2004 .

[10]  Benjamin G. Lee,et al.  All-Optical Comb Switch for Multiwavelength Message Routing in Silicon Photonic Networks , 2008, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[11]  Fang Xu,et al.  Cascaded active silicon microresonator array cross-connect circuits for WDM networks-on-chip , 2008, SPIE OPTO.

[12]  L. Schares,et al.  A 17-Gb/s low-power optical receiver using a Ge-on-SOI photodiode with a 0.13-μm CMOS IC , 2006, 2006 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference.

[13]  B. Jalali,et al.  Silicon Photonics , 2006, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[14]  J. Colinge.  Silicon-on-Insulator Technology: Materials to VLSI , 1991 .

[15]  S. Chu,et al.  Microring resonator arrays for VLSI photonics , 2000, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[16]  Raymond G. Beausoleil,et al.  Nanoelectronic and Nanophotonic Interconnect , 2008, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[17]  Axel Jantsch,et al.  A study on the implementation of 2-D mesh-based networks-on-chip in the nanometre regime , 2004, Integr..

[18]  Howard Wang,et al.  Nanophotonic Optical Interconnection Network Architecture for On-Chip and Off-Chip Communications , 2008, OFC/NFOEC 2008 - 2008 Conference on Optical Fiber Communication/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference.

[19]  Roger Fabian W. Pease,et al.  Lithography and Other Patterning Techniques for Future Electronics , 2008, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[20]  Frank Duray,et al.  Reticle contributions to CD uniformity for 0.25-μm DUV lithography , 1998, Advanced Lithography.

[21]  F. Xia,et al.  Ultra-compact high order ring resonator filters using submicron silicon photonic wires for on-chip optical interconnects. , 2007, Optics express.

[22]  T. Kaneko,et al.  Cascaded microring resonators for crosstalk reduction and spectrum cleanup in add-drop filters , 1999, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[23]  Neil Genzlinger.  A. and Q , 2006 .

[24]  Luca Benini,et al.  Networks on Chips : A New SoC Paradigm , 2022 .

[25]  F. Xia,et al.  Ultracompact optical buffers on a silicon chip , 2007 .

[26]  R. Soref,et al.  Proposed N-wavelength M-fiber WDM crossconnect switch using active microring resonators , 1998, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[27]  Doron Rubin,et al.  40Gb/s Ge-on-SOI waveguide photodetectors by selective Ge growth , 2008, OFC/NFOEC 2008 - 2008 Conference on Optical Fiber Communication/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference.

[28]  Nahum Izhaky,et al.  High-speed optical modulation based on carrier depletion in a silicon waveguide. , 2007, Optics express.

[29]  Frédéric Gaffiot,et al.  Optimization of an integrated optical crossbar in SOI technology for optical networks on chip , 2007 .

[30]  Yasuo Kokubun,et al.  Box-like filter response and expansion of FSR by a vertically triple coupled microring resonator filter , 2002 .

[31]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  Micrometre-scale silicon electro-optic modulator , 2005, Nature.

[32]  Murthy Krishna,et al.  Integrated yield and CD enhancement for advanced DUV lithography , 1999, Advanced Lithography.

[33]  Hui Chen,et al.  Low-Loss Multimode-Interference-Based Crossings for Silicon Wire Waveguides , 2006, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[34]  Toshihiko Baba,et al.  Low Loss Intersection of Si Photonic Wire Waveguides , 2004 .

[35]  Hwa-Yaw Tam,et al.  Low-loss waveguide crossing using a multimode interference structure , 2004 .

[36]  Benjamin G. Lee,et al.  Transmission of high-data-rate optical signals through a micrometer-scale silicon ring resonator. , 2006, Optics letters.

[37]  Hui Chen,et al.  On-Chip NRZ-to-PRZ Format Conversion Using Narrow-Band Silicon Microring Resonator-Based Notch Filters , 2008, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[38]  Yung-Jui Chen,et al.  A Compact and Low Power Consumption Optical Switch Based on Microrings , 2008, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[39]  Long Chen,et al.  Optical 4x4 hitless slicon router for optical networks-on-chip (NoC). , 2008, Optics express.

[40]  Omri Raday,et al.  A hybrid AlGaInAs-silicon evanescent waveguide photodetector. , 2007, Optics express.

[41]  R. Soref,et al.  Electrooptical effects in silicon , 1987 .

[42]  I. O'Connor,et al.  Design, simulation, and characterization of a passive optical add-drop filter in silicon-on-insulator technology , 2005, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[43]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  Characterization of a 4$\,\times\,$ 4 Gb/s Parallel Electronic Bus to WDM Optical Link Silicon Photonic Translator , 2007, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[44]  Y. Kokubun,et al.  Multiwavelength and Multiport Hitless Wavelength-Selective Switch Using Series-Coupled Microring Resonators , 2007, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[45]  Luca P. Carloni,et al.  Photonic NoC for DMA Communications in Chip Multiprocessors , 2007 .

[46]  Michal Lipson,et al.  Multiple-wavelength integrated photonic networks based on microring resonator devices , 2007 .

[47]  Chao Li,et al.  Active silicon microring resonators using metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors , 2004, First IEEE International Conference on Group IV Photonics, 2004..

[48]  R. Soref,et al.  The Past, Present, and Future of Silicon Photonics , 2006, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[49]  Vladimir Stojanovic,et al.  Silicon photonics for compact, energy-efficient interconnects [Invited] , 2007, Journal of Optical Networking.

[50]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  12.5 Gbit/s carrier-injection-based silicon micro-ring silicon modulators. , 2007, Optics express.

[51]  M. Morse,et al.  High speed silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator. , 2005, Optics express.

[52]  M. Lipson.  Guiding, modulating, and emitting light on Silicon-challenges and opportunities , 2005, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[53]  Hui Chen,et al.  On-Chip Optical Interconnect Roadmap: Challenges and Critical Directions , 2005, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[54]  Chao Li,et al.  Active silicon octagonal micropillar resonator modulators using metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors , 2005, (CLEO). Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2005..

[55]  Alyssa B. Apsel,et al.  On-Chip Optical Technology in Future Bus-Based Multicore Designs , 2007, IEEE Micro.

[56]  D.A.B. Miller,et al.  Rationale and challenges for optical interconnects to electronic chips , 2000, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[57]  P. Dumon,et al.  Low-loss, low-cross-talk crossings for silicon-on-insulator nanophotonic waveguides. , 2007, Optics letters.

[58]  Luca P. Carloni,et al.  Photonic Networks-on-Chip for Future Generations of Chip Multiprocessors , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Computers.

[59]  Omri Raday,et al.  Low-threshold continuous-wave Raman silicon laser , 2007 .

[60]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  Experimental realization of an on-chip all-optical analogue to electromagnetically induced transparency , 2006, 2006 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and 2006 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference.

[61]  Michal Lipson,et al.  Electrooptic modulation of silicon-on-insulator submicrometer-size waveguide devices , 2003 .

[62]  Y. Kokubun,et al.  Loss-less multilevel crossing of busline waveguide in vertically coupled microring resonator filter , 2004, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[63]  M. Lipson,et al.  Modeling and analysis of high-speed electro-optic modulation in high confinement silicon waveguides using metal-oxide-semiconductor configuration , 2004 .

[64]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  High Speed Carrier Injection 18 Gb/s Silicon Micro-ring Electro-optic Modulator , 2007, LEOS 2007 - IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society Annual Meeting Conference Proceedings.

[65]  Linjie Zhou,et al.  Silicon microring carrier-injection-based modulators/switches with tunable extinction ratios and OR-logic switching by using waveguide cross-coupling. , 2007, Optics express.

[66]  R. Soref,et al.  Synthesis of dual-microring-resonator cross-connect filters. , 2005, Optics express.

[67]  Ashok Kumar,et al.  An 8-Core 64-Thread 64b Power-Efficient SPARC SoC , 2007, 2007 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers.

[68]  Tai Tsuchizawa,et al.  Oxidation-induced improvement in the sidewall morphology and cross-sectional profile of silicon wire waveguides , 2004 .

[69]  Jörg Appenzeller,et al.  Carbon Nanotubes for High-Performance Electronics—Progress and Prospect , 2008, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[70]  Song Han,et al.  Nanoarchitectonics for Heterogeneous Integrated Nanosystems , 2008, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[71]  R. Baets,et al.  Trimming of silicon ring resonator by electron beam induced compaction and strain. , 2008, Optics express.

[72]  Jung Ho Ahn,et al.  A Nanophotonic Interconnect for High-Performance Many-Core Computation , 2008, 2008 16th IEEE Symposium on High Performance Interconnects.

[73]  Minghao Qi,et al.  A highly compact third-order silicon microring add-drop filter with a very large free spectral range, a flat passband and a low delay dispersion. , 2007, Optics express.

[74]  Vwani P. Roychowdhury,et al.  RF/wireless interconnect for inter- and intra-chip communications , 2001, Proc. IEEE.

[75]  S. Xiao,et al.  Multiple-channel silicon micro-resonator based filters for WDM applications. , 2007, Optics express.

[76]  Linjie Zhou.  Silicon microring and microdisk-based active devices using integrated p-i-n diodes , 2007 .

[77]  W. Henschel,et al.  Asymmetrically coupled silicon-on-insulator microring resonators for compact add-drop multiplexers , 2003, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[78]  Michal Lipson,et al.  Experimental realization of an on-chip all-optical analogue to electromagnetically induced transparency , 2006 .

[79]  A. Poon,et al.  Silicon cross-connect filters using microring resonator coupled multimode-interference-based waveguide crossings. , 2008, Optics express.

[80]  A. Yariv.  Universal relations for coupling of optical power between microresonators and dielectric waveguides , 2000 .

[81]  Jinzhong Yu,et al.  Rearrangeable nonblocking SOI waveguide thermooptic 4/spl times/4 switch matrix with low insertion loss and fast response , 2005 .

[82]  Kazumi Wada,et al.  High-performance, tensile-strained Ge p-i-n photodetectors on a Si platform , 2005 .

[83]  A. Knights,et al.  Silicon Photonics: An Introduction , 2004 .

[84]  Luca P. Carloni,et al.  On the Design of a Photonic Network-on-Chip , 2007, First International Symposium on Networks-on-Chip (NOCS'07).

[85]  S. Borkar,et al.  An 80-Tile Sub-100-W TeraFLOPS Processor in 65-nm CMOS , 2008, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[86]  Linjie Zhou,et al.  Silicon Polygonal Microdisk Resonators , 2006, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[87]  D. Miller,et al.  Optical interconnects to silicon , 2000, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[88]  Michael R. Watts,et al.  Maximally Confined High-Speed Second-Order Silicon Microdisk Switches , 2008 .