High, performance optical data link array technology

Demands for increased interconnection density and higher bandwidth, coupled with stringent cost constraints of advanced wide bandwidth telecommunication switching and high throughput computer architectures, are exhausting conventional electrical interconnection capabilities. The requirement for greater interconnection capabilities, spawned in part by the advances in integrated circuit technologies and the need for enhanced digital services, dictate that technology advancement must occur in traditional electronic packaging and/or interconnection techniques. The resolution of these technological needs is paramount for the successful competitive introduction of these systems. Presently, a “bottle-neck” occurs at the board-to-board level of the interconnection hierarchy, Therefore, an opportunity exists for the development of new parallel optical interconnection techniques which can be incorporated into system designs beginning at this interconnection level and beyond. The strategic insertion of parallel optical interconnection technology into these electronic processing systems not only meets projected performance requirements, but potentially offers them at a competitive cost