Parallel Optical Interconnects Over Multimode Waveguides Using Mutually Coherent Channels and Direct Detection

We present an approach for parallel optical interconnect channels using a single light source and a single multimode waveguide. Parallel transmission is achieved by exploiting the modal diversity of the multimode waveguide, thus improving the channel density, compared to other optical interconnect schemes. The proposed system facilitates packaging and requires relatively simple components, which can be integrated using silicon technology. The performance of such a system is analyzed for different modulation schemes. Based on the analysis, improved modulation schemes that reduce the system error probability are suggested.