Technologies now exist for implementing dense surface-normal optical interconnections for silicon CMOS VLSI using hybrid integration techniques. The critical factors in determining the performance of the resulting photonic chip are the yield on the transceiver device arrays, the sensitivity and power dissipation of the receiver and transmitter circuits, and the total optical power budget available. The use of GaAs--AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well p-i-n diodes for on-chip detection and modulation is one effective means of implementing the optoelectronic transceivers. We discuss a potential roadmap for the scaling of this hybrid optoelectronic VLSI technology as CMOS linewidths shrink and the characteristics of the hybrid optoelectronic tranceiver technology improve. An important general conclusion is that, unlike electrical interconnects, such dense optical interconnections directly to an electronic circuit will likely be able to scale in capacity to match the improved performance of futur...

...................................................................................................................................... viii List of publications .......................................................................................................................ix Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................................1 1.1 Scope and overall research contribution..............................................................................1 1.2 Motivation............................................................................................................................2 1.2.1 The interconnect problem .............................................................................................2 1.2.2 Capabilities and limitations of electrical interconnects................................................4 1.2.3 Advantages of optical interconnects ......................................

Many approaches to switching in optoelectronic and optical networks decompose the switching function across multiple stages or hops. This paper addresses the problem of determining whether two multi-stage or multi-hop networks are functionally equivalent. Various ad-hoc methods have been used in the past to establish such equivalences. A systematic method for determining equivalence is presented based on properties of the link permutations used to interconnect stages of the network. This method is of use in laying out multistage networks, in determining optimal channel assignments for multi-hop networks, and in establishing the routing required in such networks. A purely graphical variant of the method, requiring no mathematics or calculations, is also described. I.

an optimal foundation