Integrated optoelectronic reconfigurable digital signal processor using smart-detector technology

We introduce an optoelectronic VLSI implementation of a parallel signal processor whose processing nodes receive their binary constant values by means of an optical interconnection network. The processing nodes are integrated in a fixed array raster. Each node requires its own optical inputs realized as smart-detector units. A smart-detector is a combination of an optical receiver device and a receiver circuit and transforms the optical information into electrical signals. We use integrated photo diodes as optical receivers. The photo diodes are optimized for fiber optical coupling and they can be integrated with standard mainstream CMOS/BiCMOS technology. The project is in progress and we present first results.