Abstract

One approach to increase the interconnection bandwidth between electronic integrated circuits is to interconnect these ICs using beams of light imaged on and off each chip using lenses. This technique is often called free space digital optics. The ICs themselves could be very simple, such as an array of NOR gates, or very complex, such as an array of self-routing switching nodes or other processing elements. The SEED technology, which can incorporate detectors and optical modulators along with traditional electronic components, is a leading candidate for these optically interconnected ICs.

© 1993 Optical Society of America