An Electro Optical Honeycomb Networks-on-Chip based on a New Nonblocking Switch

Network-on-Chip (NoC) is an emerging paradigm for communications within large VLSI systems implemented on a single silicon chip. However, the electronic network on chip design faces many problems like energy consumption, bandwidth and QoS. Compared with traditional electronic NoC, optical Network on Chip exhibits advantages of high-bandwidth, low latency and power dissipation. In this paper, a new 4×4 optical non-blocking switch is introduced on the basis of the latest development of nanophotonic technologies and of the prompt progress of optical integration technologies. The new approach can solve the problem of internal blocking with a fine symmetrical feature, while it needs the minimal number of resonators. Optical-loss budget under this architecture is also evaluated, calculated and compared with currently existing optical switches in this paper. An electro optical honeycomb network-on-chip is constructed based on the new switch architecture. It functions with low power dissipation and high bandwidth for the future network on chip.