A reconfigurable optoelectronic interconnect technology for multi-processor networks

This paper describes a new optical interconnect architecture and the integrated optoelectronic circuit technology for implementing a parallel, reconfigurable, multiprocessor network. The technology consists of monolithic arrays of optoelectronic switches that integrate vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with three-terminal heterojunction phototransistors, which effectively combine the functions of an optical transceiver and an optical spatial routing switch. These switches have demonstrated optical switching at 200 Mb/s, and electrical-to-optical data conversion at >500 Mb/s, with a small-signal electrical-to-optical modulation bandwidth of ~4 GHz