Gigabit Optical Interconnects For The Connection Machine

Optical interconnects have been designed and demonstrated in the Connection Machine. The objective was to reduce the size and power dissipation of optical interconnect transmitters and receivers such that optical fibers could be used inside the processor to replace cabling. The results demonstrated a 512:1 increase in interconnect density. This paper describes the architecture, design and physical characteristics of the Connection Machine optical interconnects and the results of the demonstration.