MICROPRISM ARRAY FOR LARGE-SCALE, WIDEBAND INTERCONNECTION OF OPTOELECTRIC SYSTEMS

MICROPRISM ARRAYS ON HIGH-INDEX GLASS (N=1.7-1.9) WITH LINEAR DIMENSIONS AS SMALL AS 10E-4 HAVE BEEN MADE AND DEMONSTRATED FOR WIDE-BAND LARGE-SCALE INTERCONNECTION. A BOARD-TO-BOARD OPTICAL INTERCONNECTION WITH 60 GHZ MODULATION BANDWIDTH AND 22 DB SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO IS ACHIEVED USING MICROPRISM COUPLERS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OPTICAL BUSES. A COUPLING BANDWIDTH OF MORE THAN 250 NM HAS BEEN CONFIRMED, WHICH IS TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE HIGHER THAN THAT FOR HOLOGRAPHIC GRATING COUPLERS. ELIMINATION OF BACKPLANE INTERCONNECTION GREATLY ENHANCES THE INTERCONNECTION SPEED AND REDUCES THE CLOCK SKEW. IMPLEMENTATION OF A HIGH-SPEED ON-BOARD TRANSCEIVER WILL GENERATE A FULLY ON-BOARD HIGH-SPEED PROCESSOR. MICROPRISM ARRAYS ARE MASS PRODUCIBLE. A MINIATURIZED FINE-GRAINED 3-D COMPUTER CAN BE REALIZED WHERE EACH MICROPRISM COUPLER WILL COST ONLY TEN CENTS IN LARGE QUANTITIES.