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Optical technologies are ubiquitous in telecommunications networks
and systems, providing multiple wave-length channels of transport at
2.5-10 Gbps data rates over single fiber-optic cables. Market
pressures continue to drive the number of wavelength channels per
fiber and the data rate per channel. This trend will continue for
many years to come as e-commerce grows and enterprises demand higher
and reliable band-width over long distances. E-commerce, in turn, is
driving the growth curves for single processor and multi-processor
performance in database transaction and web-based servers.
Ironically, the insatiable taste for enterprise network bandwidth,
which has driven up the volume and pushed down the price of optical
components for telecommunications, is simultaneously stressing
computer system bandwidth--increasing the need for new interconnection
schemes--and providing for the first time commercial opportunities for
optical components in computer systems.
This paper will center primarily on the use of optical interconnects
within commercial digital computing systems, particularly
workstations and servers, and will address mainly board-to-board
interconnects within a single cabinet or box. We feel this is the
most likely utilization of optics in commercial computer systems for
the next decade. We will also provide a practical analysis of inter-
and intra-chip optical interconnects and the difficulties they face
in real systems.
Keywords: vertical cavity laser, microprocessor, optical interconnect,
free-space interconnect
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