Progress in optoelectronic systems based on InGaAs/CMOS smart-pixel arrays and free-space optical interconnects

In order to overcome the predicted bandwidth limits of electrical connectivity to Si-CMOS circuitry, optoelectronic interconnections have been explored. A promising optoelectronic scheme involves the integration of Si-CMOS with III-V optoelectronic devices and the interconnection of these using free-space imaging optics. Such techniques would allow massively parallel interconnections at >Tbit/s data rates. This paper reports on experimental progress in two projects which aim to develop the optoelectronic devices and connecting optics by constructing demonstrator systems. The first of these systems is a 1024 channel parallel data sorting machine and the second is a crossbar switch with >1Tbit/s i/o from a hybrid routing chip.