OIIC: Generic approach to manufacturable optoelectronic interconnects for VLSI Circuits

• Forschungsstelle: EU FRP
• Projektnummer: 96.0284
• Projekttitel Englisch: OIIC: Generic approach to manufacturable optoelectronic interconnects for VLSI Circuits

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Optoelectronics; optical interconnects; electronics

Alternative Projektnummern (Englisch)

EU project number: EP 22.641

Forschungsprogramme (Englisch)

EU-programme: 4. Frame Research Programme - 1.3 Telematic systems

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

See abstract

Partner und Internationale Organisationen (Englisch)

Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronika Centrum v.z.w. (IMEC) (B), GEC Marconi Materials Technology (GMMT) (UK), Framatome Connectors Belgium N.V. (B), University of Ulm (D), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH-Z) University of Brussels (B), University of Dortmund (D), University of Oxford (UK)

Abstract (Englisch)

The OIIC project intends to work out solutions to overcome the difficulties of electronic interconnects encountered in handling extremely high data transfer rates within and between VLSI-silicon integrated circuits. The project is identifying and demonstrating the advantages of optical interconnects in high-throughput low latency VLSI chip-to-chip and longer distance interconnects. This is achieved by integrating optical interconnection islands very close to integrated processor chips.
Processor architectures were specifically adapted to take advantage of massively parallel optical interconnects. OIIC is realizing processor chips with optical interconnect islands that contain transmitter and receiver electronics in standard Si-CMOS foundry technologies. Onto these Si-chips light-source arrays (vertical cavity surface emitting lasers and light-emission diodes) and photodetector- arrays are hybridly attached by solder bumps. For the optical interconnect paths, solutions with plastic optical fibers as well as free space interconnects are implemented.
ETH-Z is involved in OIIC with the development of InGaAs/InP photodetector arrays for the operational wavelengths of 980 and 850 nanometers. ETH-Z in its major efforts developed the application specific CMOS electronic transmitter and receiver electronic circuits for most of the interconnect demonstrators of the project. In the first project phase, for the system demonstrator, photodetector arrays and CMOS transmitter and receiver electronics have been developed that successfully operate up to several hundred Mbit/s per channel. In the second project phase, ETH-Z has adapted the transmitter and receiver electronics for incorporation into a CMOS processor with several 4x8 optical interconnect islands that will demonstrate throughput rates exceeding one terabit/s. For an advanced technology demonstrator ETH-Z has realized both 0.85 (m photodetectors with removed substrates, and transmitter and receiver CMOS electronics envisioning bitrates of 1 Gbit/s per channel in 2x8 interconnect arrays. Assemblies and final system demonstrations are currently still underway.

Datenbankreferenzen (Englisch)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 96.0284