Dynamic global interconnections between processors in massively parallel computers are a highly desirable feature. Their implementation would greatly increase performance because large bandwidth interprocessor communication links may be reconfigured to match problem geometries. Global hardwiring of interconnects for large processor arrays is cumbersome, and present systems use rather tedious packet routing virtual interconnects. This report presents a novel design concept for a dynamic optical interconnect which would create a holographic interconnect between any two (or more) processors upon request. Each processor has a detector and a light source. A hologram may then be written into a nonlinear crystal which will diffract modulated light from a source at one processor to detectors at any other processors which desire that communication link. Writing is a two step process using a phase conjugate mirror and requiring the light sources of the involved processors to be mutually coherent. Preliminary analysis of this system along with an experimental proof of concept is discussed.

Date Published: 11 August 1987
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 0752, Digital Optical Computing, (11 August 1987); doi: 10.1117/12.939928

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0752:
Digital Optical Computing
Raymond Arrathoon, Editor(s)