Image fiber optic 2D parallel optical interconnects based on space-CDMA

An image fiber based optical space code division multiple access system is an important candidate for future 2D parallel optical interconnects. We clarify the advantages of the image fiber in terms of parallelism, channel density, alignment, skew control and so on, by comparing it with conventional parallel optical transmission media such as a fiber ribbon. We also compare the image fiber with the other candidates for 2D parallel optical interconnects, such as 2D fiber arrays and lens systems. We then show that 2D parallel optical interconnects using an image fiber are applicable not only to 1-to-1 optical interconnection, but also to more complicated network topologies connecting many processing devices. We describe key technical subjects for the image fiber network including an image fiber coupler, an alignment method, and a multiplexing scheme. An experiment is reported for each subject. Space-CDMA for the multiplexing scheme is explained in particular detail, and the advantages of this scheme over other schemes such as time division multiplexing and wavelength division multiplexing are clarified.