Si systems are rapidly evolving towards more efficient, compact parallel architectures characterized by a mix of both monolithic and hybrid technologies as silicon technology moves into the ultra large scale integration (ULSI) era. Previous distinctions between active chips and passive packaging will disappear within multi-chip modules (MCM) in which the Si interconnection substrate has evolved active devices supporting an interconnection network linking components within the module. As architectures emerge based upon multiple MCMs, the role optics plays as a performance enabling technology will be determined by how well it can provide a high performance interconnection network function which can efficiently bridge the physical substrate and package boundaries of the system. This paper motivates work experimentally exploring the compatibility of GaAs heteroepitaxy with submicron Si CMOS and the scaling of polymer high density optical waveguide arrays in order to achieve high density MCM-to-MCM optical interconnections compatible with emerging MCM environments.

Date Published: 24 August 1992
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 1704, Advances in Optical Information Processing V, (24 August 1992); doi: 10.1117/12.139912

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1704:
Advances in Optical Information Processing V
Dennis R. Pape, Editor(s)