Super computing is reaching out to ExaFLOP processing speeds, creating fundamental challenges for the way that
computing systems are designed and built. One governing topic is the reduction of power used for operating the system,
and eliminating the excess heat generated from the system. Current thinking sees optical interconnects on most
interconnect levels to be a feasible solution to many of the challenges, although there are still limitations to the technical
solutions, in particular with regard to manufacturability.
This paper explores drivers for enabling optical interconnect technologies to advance into the module and chip level. The
introduction of optical links into High Performance Computing (HPC) could be an option to allow scaling the
manufacturing technology to large volume manufacturing. This will drive the need for manufacturability of optical
interconnects, giving rise to other challenges that add to the realization of this type of interconnection. This paper
describes a solution that allows the creation of optical components on module level, integrating optical chips, laser
diodes or PIN diodes as components much like the well known SMD components used for electrical components. The
paper shows the main challenges and potential solutions to this challenge and proposes a fundamental paradigm shift in
the manufacturing of 3-dimensional optical links for the level 1 interconnect (chip package).
© (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Citation
Markus B. K. Riester ; Ruth Houbertz-Krauss and Sönke Steenhusen
"
Chip-to-board interconnects for high-performance computing
", Proc. SPIE 8630, Optoelectronic Interconnects XIII, 863002 (February 22, 2013); doi:10.1117/12.2008817; http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2008817
