A comparison of dissipated power and signal-to-noise ratios in electrical and optical interconnects

A comparison between dissipated power and signal-to-noise ratios (SNR´s) in electrical and optical interconnects is performed. It is shown that in the absence of amplification to logic voltage levels the electrical interconnection requires much lower signal powers. However, if the amplification in the receiver is included, comparable total power dissipation and SNR´s result under the constraint of equal output voltage.