Dual-layer WDM routing for wafer-scale packaging of photonically-interconnected computing systems
As an enabling building block to support high bandwidth optical interconnections among supercomputing processing elements, we present the first monolithically integrated chip-to-chip wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optical proximity coupler with 4-channel × 200GHz-spacing multiplexer/demultiplexer (MUX/DEMUX) functionality utilizing an echelle grating, micro reflective mirrors, and waveguide mode transformers on single silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. This new photonic integrated circuits can be utilized to provide a data-rate independent optical interface that surpasses the throughput bottleneck of current electrical data paths.