OPTICALLY ASSISTED THREE-DIMENSIONAL PACKAGING FOR MULTICHIP MODULE APPLICATIONS

IN THIS PROGRAM, PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION (POC) PROPOSES A NEW APPROACH TO THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3-D) MICROCIRCUIT PACKAGING USING WAVEGUIDE OPTICAL INTERCONNECT TECHNIQUES. THIS WAVEGUIDE INTERCONNECTS INCLUDES ELECTROOPTIC MODULATION USING A HIGH SPEED INTERGATED WAVEGUIDE MODULATOR, WAVEGUIDE MODE PROPAGATION FOR SIGNAL ROUTING AND OPTICAL DETECTION FOR ELECTRONIC SIGNAL REGENERATION. THE PROPOSED INTERCONNECTION CONCEPT USING MONOLITHICALLY INTEGRATED OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS WILL SATISFY THE NEED FOR 3-D PACKAGING OF MULTICHIP MODULES. IT WILL PROVIDE HIGHER SYSTEM PACKAGING DENSITY AND COMPLEXITY, LOWER POWER COMSUMPTION, HIGHER SYSTEM SPEED, BETTER RELIABILITY, LARGER INTERCONNECT BANDWIDTHS, LOWER FABRICATION COSTS, AND HIGHER RESISTANCE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE THAN OTHER INTERCONNECTION TECHNIQUES. THE PROPOSED PHASE I RESEARCH WILL FORM THE BASE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPLETELY INTEGRATED SYSTEM IN PHASE II.