High-Speed Reconfigurable Free-Space Card-to-Card Optical Interconnects

A reconfigurable free-space-based card-to-card optical interconnect architecture employing MEMS-based steering mirror arrays in conjunction with VCSEL and photodiode arrays is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. Theoretical studies and simulations indicate that error-free [bit error rate (BER) of <; 10-6] optical interconnects with a range on the order of tens of centimeters can be achieved, and the major factors limiting the performance are the VCSEL beam divergence and interchannel optical crosstalk. The tradeoff between the BER performance and the channel spacing of the receiver MEMS mirror array is also investigated. A proof-of-concept 3 × 10 Gb/s reconfigurable optical interconnect architecture is developed, demonstrating a BER of ~10-6 and a receiver sensitivity better than ~ -11.5 dBm. Both the port-to-port and board-to-board reconfigurability of the proposed architecture are also experimentally demonstrated, opening the way for attaining higher throughputs through highly dense 3-D parallel optical interconnects.

[1]  B. Leskovar.  Optical receivers for wide band data transmission systems , 1989 .

[2]  R K Kostuk,et al.  Hybrid free-space optical bus system for board-to-board interconnections. , 1996, Applied optics.

[3]  M. Naruse,et al.  Reconfigurable optical interconnections for parallel computing , 2000, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[4]  Xuliang Han,et al.  An 8-Gb/s optical backplane bus based on microchannel interconnects: design, fabrication, and performance measurements , 2000, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[5]  Vijai K. Tripathi,et al.  Characterization and modeling of multiple coupled on-chip interconnects on silicon substrate , 2001 .

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

[7]  Predrag Milojkovic,et al.  Multiscale optical design for global chip-to-chip optical interconnections and misalignment tolerant packaging , 2003 .

[8]  K. Giboney,et al.  Parallel-optical interconnects >100 gb/s , 2004, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[9]  R. John,et al.  120-Gb/s VCSEL-based parallel-optical interconnect and custom 120-Gb/s testing station , 2004, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[10]  Alan F. Benner,et al.  Exploitation of optical interconnects in future server architectures , 2005 .

[11]  Mike Ignatowski,et al.  Exploitation of optical interconnects in future server architectures , 2005, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[12]  Partha Pratim Pande,et al.  Performance evaluation and design trade-offs for network-on-chip interconnect architectures , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Computers.

[13]  T. Mizuochi,et al.  Recent progress in forward error correction and its interplay with transmission impairments , 2006, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[14]  Pawel Gepner,et al.  Multi-Core Processors: New Way to Achieve High System Performance , 2006, PARELEC.

[15]  S. Thompson,et al.  Moore's law: the future of Si microelectronics , 2006 .

[16]  Il-Sug Chung,et al.  High-speed (2.5 Gbps) reconfigurable inter-chip optical interconnects using opto-VLSI processors. , 2006, Optics express.

[17]  T. Wilkinson,et al.  Free space adaptive optical interconnect at 1.25 Gb/s, with beam steering using a ferroelectric liquid-crystal SLM , 2006, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[18]  R. Beyeler,et al.  Polymer-Waveguide-Based Board-Level Optical Interconnect Technology for Datacom Applications , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Advanced Packaging.

[19]  Masud H. Chowdhury,et al.  Time diversity approach for intra-chip RF/wireless interconnect systems , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[20]  C.L. Schow,et al.  A Single-Chip CMOS-Based Parallel Optical Transceiver Capable of 240-Gb/s Bidirectional Data Rates , 2009, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[21]  Balaram Sinharoy,et al.  POWER7: IBM's next generation server processor , 2010, 2009 IEEE Hot Chips 21 Symposium (HCS).

[22]  J. Cui,et al.  High-Power Large-Aperture Bottom-Emitting 980-nm VCSELs With Integrated GaAs Microlens , 2009 .

[23]  Solomon Assefa,et al.  CMOS-Integrated Optical Receivers for On-Chip Interconnects , 2010, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[24]  Ke Wang,et al.  High-speed duplex optical wireless communication system for indoor personal area networks. , 2010, Optics express.

[25]  C. L. Schow,et al.  Terabit/sec VCSEL-based parallel optical module based on holey CMOS transceiver IC , 2012, OFC/NFOEC.