This paper describes various VLSI systems for microphotonic applications. The first project investigates an optimum phase design implementing a multi phase Opto-ULSI processor for multi-function capable optical networks. This research is oriented around the initial development of an 8 phase Opto-ULSI processor that implements a Beam Steering (BS) Opto-ULSI processor (OUP) for integrated intelligent photonic system (IIPS), while investigating the optimal phase characteristics and developing compensation for the nonlinearity of liquid crystal. The second part provides an insight into realisation of a novel 3-D configurable chip based on "sea-of-pixels" architecture, which is highly suitable for applications in multimedia systems as well as for computation of coefficients for generation of holograms required in optical switches. The paper explores strategies for implementation of distributed primitives for arithmetic processing. This entails optimisation of basic cells that would allow using these primitives as part of a 3-D "sea-of-pixel" configurable processing array. The concept of 3-D Soft-Chip Technology (SCT) entails integration of "Soft-Processing Circuits" with "Soft-Configurable Circuits", which effectively manipulates hardware primitives through vertical integration of control and data. Thus the notion of 3-D Soft-Chip emerges as a new design paradigm for content-rich multimedia, telecommunication and photonic-based networking system applications. Combined with the effective manipulation of configurable hardware arithmetic primitives, highly efficient and powerful soft configurable processing systems can be realized.

Date Published: 5 January 2006
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 6035, Microelectronics: Design, Technology, and Packaging II, 60350L (5 January 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.639121

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6035:
Microelectronics: Design, Technology, and Packaging II
Alex J. Hariz, Editor(s)