VLSI Photonics for High-Performance Data Centers

Liang, Di; Fiorentino, Marco; Beausoleil, Raymond G.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-10503-6_18

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 82 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At the time of writing this review, we are approximately at the point where, with current and emerging technology, optics is poised to provide at least modest energy reductions for data links compared to electrical approaches, even for relatively short links between cabinets and in backplanes or module connections [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20].…”

Section: A Goals For This Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are two basic approaches to WDM for short-distance interconnects: we can use passive optics to split different wavelengths to photodetectors and to combine signals on different wavelengths from modulators that do not themselves need to be tuned or resonant (see, e.g., [137], [138], [139]); or we can use resonator modulators and/or photodetectors that themselves extract the WDM channels by tuning to specific wavelengths (see, e.g., systems using sets of microring or microdisk resonators, each tuned to a chosen different wavelength [14], [17], [20], [105]). See also [140] for a critical analysis of WDM approaches for dense interconnections.…”

Section: ) Wavelength-division Multiplexing In Short Distance Intercmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For photon energy 12 1eV hν ≡ (where h is Planck's constant and ν is the optical frequency), then absorbing this 1nW of power could give a current 13 of ~ 1nA. The photodiode could also give a voltage 14 of up to 1V. 1nA in a 1GΩ load resistor 15 would correspond to 1V.…”

Section: E Physics Of Optical Interconnect Energies 1) Quantum Impeda...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The remarkable and growing role of optics in the past few decades has enabled a continuing [10], [11] exponential growth of long-distance communications; the capacity of an individual optical fiber has grown at a rate comparable to Moore's law [12]. Increasingly, optics is allowing higher densities of communication inside large systems, as in optical data links in data centers [13], [14]. But, now we are facing a need to have optics help at shorter distances, and not just to enable higher interconnect densities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This would be the so-called "short-circuit" current of the photodiode 14. This would be an "open-circuit" voltage under "flat-band" conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Attojoule Optoelectronics for Low-Energy Information Processing and Communications

Miller

2017

J. Lightwave Technol.

605

406

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Optics offers unique opportunities for reducing energy in information processing and communications while simultaneously resolving the problem of interconnect bandwidth density inside machines. Such energy dissipation overall is now at environmentally significant levels; the source of that dissipation is progressively shifting from logic operations to interconnect energies. Without the prospect of substantial reduction in energy per bit communicated, we cannot continue the exponential growth of our use of information. The physics of optics and optoelectronics fundamentally addresses both interconnect energy and bandwidth density, and optics may be the only scalable solution to such problems. Here we summarize the corresponding background, status, opportunities, and research directions for optoelectronic technology and novel optics, including sub-femtojoule devices in waveguide and novel 2D array optical systems. We compare different approaches to low-energy optoelectronic output devices and their scaling, including lasers, modulators and LEDs, optical confinement approaches (such as resonators) to enhance effects, and the benefits of different material choices, including 2D materials and other quantum-confined structures. With such optoelectronic energy reductions, and the elimination of line charging dissipation by the use optical connections, the next major interconnect dissipations are in the electronic circuits for receiver amplifiers, timing recovery and multiplexing. We show we can address these through the integration of photodetectors to reduce or eliminate receiver circuit energies, free-space optics to eliminate the need for timing and multiplexing circuits (while also solving bandwidth density problems), and using optics generally to save power by running large synchronous systems. One target concept is interconnects from ~ 1 cm to ~ 10 m that have the same energy (~ 10fJ/bit) and simplicity as local electrical wires on chip.

show abstract