The limits to high-speed electronics

Optical techniques for communication systems has developed very fast during the 1990s, and facilitates data rates of 10-100 Gb/s per wavelength. Through wavelength multiplexing up to several THz has been demonstrated. The optical networks are ideal for transmission, but several limitations remain regarding other functions, for example switching, retiming, insertion and drop etc. In the same time electronics tend to lag behind the optical techniques in speed and throughput. However, also the electronic techniques developes fast, so it is important to revise its prospects for handling the optical data rates. In this paper I will try to judge the prospects of electronics such as Si bipolar ICs and CMOS ICs to deal with very high communication data rates