Abstract

Optoelectronic logic gates interconnected by free space optics (smart pixels) show great promise for efficient implementation of high performance switching, signal processing, and computing systems. Optical interconnects have a number of advantages over electrical interconnects, including (1) lower energy per bit for point to point interconnections; (2) lower chip area used per interconnection which allows a larger interconnect density; and (3) ability to implement high fan-out and high fan-in processing architectures. OptiComp is currently developing smart pixel arrays in GaAs and Si which will contain up to 1,000 smart pixels, each operating at a data rate of hundreds of Mb/s, on a 1 cm² die. In this paper, we will describe the design of GaAs-based smart pixel arrays which contain up to 8 x 8 elements in a 9 x 9 mm area, and which are projected to operate at data rates in excess of 1 Gb/s/channel. These smart pixel arrays are suitable for incorporation in high performance optoelectronic computing (HPOC) modules.

© 1997 Optical Society of America