Circuit Switchable Optical Device for Inter-Chip Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing speed of computer chip communications on circuit boards creates a communications bottleneck, and existing methods for using fiber optics are impractical due to manufacturing inaccuracies and complexity in routing optical signals, making marketable optical interconnects between chips elusive despite the need for broadband data transfer.
Innovation Solution
The use of hollow metal waveguides with micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) actuated optical devices and optical crossbar fabrics that allow for dynamically reconfigurable connections between multiple layers, enabling efficient and reliable optical signal routing with low loss and high flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fiber optics are physically placed and connected to chips, then optical signal transmission is achieved, but manufacturing accuracy and time requirements become too stringent to be widely adopted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical fiber optic placement and connection systems with an integrated photonic circuit system. Instead of physically placing individual fiber optics and manually connecting them to chips with micron-level precision, the invention uses lithographically fabricated waveguides and photonic components that are manufactured using standard semiconductor fabrication processes, eliminating the need for manual fiber placement and connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal photonic interface that can be integrated with standard electronic circuit boards and chips. The photonic circuit board includes both optical waveguides and electrical interconnects, allowing a single platform to handle both optical and electrical signals, thereby eliminating the need for separate fiber optic installation processes.
2Reliability
If fiber optics are physically placed and connected to chips, then optical signal transmission is achieved, but the process becomes too time consuming to be widely adopted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces time-consuming manual fiber placement and connection operations with automated semiconductor fabrication processes. The photonic circuits are manufactured using lithography, etching, and deposition techniques that can produce thousands of optical interconnects simultaneously in a single fabrication run, dramatically increasing manufacturing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary integration of optical and electrical interconnects during the semiconductor fabrication process itself. Rather than adding fiber optics after chip manufacturing, the photonic circuits are fabricated simultaneously with the electronic circuits on the same substrate, eliminating subsequent assembly steps and reducing overall manufacturing time.
3Speed
If optical signals are routed around and between circuit boards, then inter-chip communication is achieved, but system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges optical waveguides and electrical interconnects into a single integrated photonic circuit board structure. The optical and electrical routing layers are combined in a unified substrate, allowing both signal types to be routed simultaneously without requiring separate fiber optic infrastructure or complex external routing arrangements between boards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional waveguide routing within the photonic circuit board, employing multiple layers of optical interconnects stacked vertically. This vertical dimension allows optical signals to be routed between chips on different layers without requiring complex lateral routing around board edges or between separate boards, simplifying the overall system architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a compact, reliable, and cost-effective method for high-speed optical interconnects between chips, achieving low optical loss and fast switching times, thereby addressing the communications bottleneck and enabling efficient broadband data transfer.
Implementation Method 1
a first array of intersecting hollow waveguides formed in a first plane of a substrate... a second array of intersecting hollow waveguides formed in a second plane of the substrate
Implementation Method 2
an optical element in the first array is selectively movable to redirect an optical signal from the first array to the second array
Data Source
AI summary
A circuit switched optical device includes a first array of intersecting hollow waveguides formed in a first plane of a substrate. A second array of intersecting hollow waveguides is formed in a second plane of the substrate, and the second plane is positioned parallel to the first plane. An optical element within the first array selectively redirects an optical signal from the first array to the second array.