Optical network-on-chip reconfigurable model for multi-level analysis

Optical network-on-chip (ONoC) is a well accepted emerging technology for use as a communication platform for systems-on-chip (SoC). Its heterogeneous nature dictates developing a hierarchical model and tools for its design and analysis. This paper presents a reconfigurable ONoC model that can be used for analyzing the network at three hierarchical levels: system level, behavioral level, and physical level. At system level, the proposed ONoC model can be used to evaluate the network performance metrics (e.g. latency and throughput). At behavioral level, the model can be used to analyze the functionality of the whole ONoC from the interaction and the integration of its constituent building blocks. At the physical level, the model can be used to analyze the effect and verify the joint feasibility of optoelectronic and photonic devices specifications for reliable data communication and can further be used as a reference golden model during the design phase of the physical devices. The proposed model has been integrated successfully inside an industrial simulation environment (ST GenKit) using an industrial standard (VSTNoC) protocol.