Switching Energy and Device Size Limits on Digital Photonic Signal Processing Technologies

Abstract

The relationship between device size and power consumption of photonic signal processing devices is derived using device-specific models for photonic signal processing using semiconductor optical amplifiers, periodically poled lithium niobate, and highly nonlinear fibers. The results are then compared with the power-length characteristics of CMOS digital devices. The general conclusion is that photonic signal processing technologies demand significantly larger space and/or power than CMOS technologies.