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- Title
On-Chip Optical Interconnects.
- Authors
Kobrinsky, Mauro J.; Block, Bruce A.; Jun-Fei Zheng; Barnett, Brandon C.; Mohammed, Edris; Reshotko, Miriam; Robertson, Frank; List, Scott; Young, Ian; Cadien, Kenneth
- Abstract
Gordon Moore's prediction over thirty years ago that the number of transistors per Integrated Circuit (IC) would double every two years has driven a dramatic scaling in feature sizes, which has had a negative impact on the resistance of metal interconnects. The recent conversion of the IC industry from aluminum to copper interconnects provided a one-time improvement of resistivity and electromigration, but it does not resolve the degradation of interconnect delay with further scaling. Furthermore, numerous other issues still remain with metal interconnects, such as power consumption and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). Consequently, several researchers are considering the possibility of using photonics to replace metal interconnects. Optical interconnects offer the promise of decreasing interconnect delays and providing higher bandwidth to keep pace with transistor speed improvements, while potentially lowering power consumption and being resistant to EMI. In this paper, potential on-chip applications of optical interconnects to mitigate the limitations of metal interconnects are discussed. In particular, we compare the performance and cost of optical interconnects and Cu interconnects for clock distribution and intrachip global signaling. Our analysis did not reveal significant advantages for on-die clock distribution using optical interconnects as compared to conventional clock distribution. For signaling, it was found that optical interconnects, in conjunction with wavelength division multiplexing, can potentially provide a low latency-high bandwidth option.
- Subjects
INTEGRATED circuit interconnections; ELECTRONIC circuits; OPTICAL fibers; ALUMINUM; COPPER; ELECTROMAGNETIC interference
- Publication
Intel Technology Journal, 2004, Vol 8, Issue 2, p129
- ISSN
1535-864X
- Publication type
Article