Fiber remote configuration for an optically reconfigurable gate array with four configuration contexts

Abstract

A function enabling remote programming is necessary for systems used with nuclear power plants, high-energy physics experiments, and other plants with no personnel. Recently, optically reconfigurable gate array (ORGA) architecture has been developed to achieve a huge virtual gate count that is much greater than those of currently available VLSIs. However, ORGA architectures have never supported a remote programming capability since a complicated holographic writer system is required along with an ORGA for that purpose. This paper therefore presents a proposal of a new remotely reconfigurable gate array architecture with four configuration contexts that enable remote reconfiguration using optical fiber networks. Furthermore, this paper presents discussion of the availability of this architecture and plans based on the experimental results.