In order to satisfy the increasing demand for interchip interconnect bandwidth, a number of current research projects are concentrating on the use of waveguided optical interconnect arrays to span PCB-range distances. To accelerate system design and technology development, CAD tools for the design and the simulation of the interconnects are indispensable. We are developing a design methodology for optical inter-chip interconnects, to produce a tool for assisting system designers on deciding on product and parameter options for the different interconnect building blocks. A mandatory first step in this methodology development concerns the investigation of the combined impact of individual product and parameter variations on system-level interconnect system properties. Accurately predicting some interconnect properties requires analog simulation of the full electrical-optical-electrical links. Detailed models for the link building blocks involving geometrical calculations are much too slow for this purpose. Circuit-level simulation tools, with appropriate model descriptions, are much more suitable. In this paper, we describe our framework for the joint simulation of the entire optical interconnect with a mixed analog/digital system. We discuss in detail a number of issues that are involved with the implementation of circuit-level simulation models in the analog modelling language Verilog-AMS, and show a link simulation example.

This dissertation is dedicated to my parents and my wife, Taehee. Their support and love have encouraged me on this long path. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to my thesis advisor, Prof. Martin Brooke, for his constant support throughout my Ph.D. experience. I also would like to thank Prof. Abhijit Chatterjee, Prof. David Schimmel, Prof. Ali Adibi, and Prof. Hao-Min Zhou for serving as my dissertation committee members. I am especially grateful to Yoonsu Choi, Jaemin Shin, and Cheolung Cha for their assistance in my research work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS

In systems with a high density of multi-gigabit per second communication channels---each spanning distances of a few cm to about a metre---optical interconnects are put forward as an alternative to traditional electrical interconnections. The optics should introduce several advantages: higher channel bit rates, denser interconnect and less drive power. While the technology of VCSELs, photodetectors and different guidewave systems has made much progress over the past decade, the design space of their integration into a full solution has not nearly received the amount of exploration as the individual link building blocks have. In this paper, we discuss the development of a design methodology for optical interconnects, beginning with a systematic exploration of their design space. To this end, circuit-level simulation models for optical interconnects have been developed that enable prediction of some important system-level properties (such as timing characteristics) of various setups.

Interconnects (MAUI) program is a collaboration between Agilent