Chapter 1 - Architectural Considerations for Optical Computing and Photonic Switching

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of architectural considerations for optical computing and photonic switching. Research into the use of free-space digital optics for interconnections and packaging during the past two decades has produced many promising results by combining and coordinating the efforts of researchers, scientists, and engineers from a wide variety of backgrounds. These many backgrounds include classical optics, lens design, diffractive optics, holography, optomechanics, laser design, device physics, semiconductor device fabrication, high-speed electronics design, advanced electronics packaging, thermodynamics and thermal packaging, digital logic design, and system architectures. The two rapidly growing processing systems are high-performance computing systems and high-throughput telecommunication switching systems. High-performance computing systems and high-throughput telecommunication systems will share many common attributes in the future. For example, both of these processing systems will undoubtedly require very high data rates (50 Mbps to 1 Gbps) to be passed on the signal traces between functional units. High-performance computer systems will require these data rates as the speeds of processors and cache memories are continually increased.