Graphene-enabled hybrid architectures for multiprocessors: Bridging nanophotonics and nanoscale wireless communication

Due to their out-standing performance (huge bandwidth and high signal quality), optical communications have become the standardized technologies suited for long reach and high bit-rate communication systems. Nevertheless, the traditional incompatibility of CMOS with the optical technology, and the difficulty for all-optical implementation of some key functions such as buffering and header processing, have been hindering the application of optical communications for short-range communications. However, the advent of nanophotonics is paving the way for such approach by enabling CMOS compatibility and the possibility of building out micro-and nanoscale optical components. In this paper, we do a first overview of the state-of-the-art in graphene and silicon nanophotonics, and its utilization for on-chip communication in multicore processors, to then propose a hybrid wireless/optical-wired architecture based on both a photonic Network-on-Chip (NoC) and a wireless NoC. The former for transferring heavy flows of data, the latter for supporting the control plane of the whole network, and carrying light data flows.