Photonics in digital computing: paradigms and proof-of-principle demonstrators

Hugo Thienpont

doi:10.1117/12.354744

19 July 1999 Photonics in digital computing: paradigms and proof-of-principle demonstrators

Hugo Thienpont

Proceedings Volume 3749, 18th Congress of the International Commission for Optics; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.354744
Event: ICO XVIII 18th Congress of the International Commission for Optics, 1999, San Francisco, CA, United States

Abstract

It is generally recognized by the optics in computing community that photonic technologies can help to alleviate the data communication bottlenecks of future digital processing systems in two ways. In a first approach optics could be used as a wirereplacing technology at the different interconnect levels in computers such as the back-plane, the board-to-board, the multi-chip to multi-chip (MCM) and even the intra-MCM interconnect level. In a second approach 2D-arrays of smart pixels, which are integrated VLSI-photonic components that combine the electronic processing power of Si-CMOS with the high interconnect density of GaAs-based parallel opto-electronic I/O planes, could play a major role in dedicated processing systems such as smart focal-plane arrays, artificial retina and early-vision processors and outperform their dedicated all-electronic counterparts. In this paper we bring forward some of the multifarious ways to put micro-optical components to work in digital optical information processing systems by reviewing two of our most recent proof-of-principle demonstrators. First we will illustrate the "microoptics as a wire-replacing technology" paradigm by presenting a micro-optical module for multi-channel free-space intra-MCM interconnects. Secondly, as an example of the so-called "smart pixel" paradigm, we demonstrate how we have constructed a prototype morphological image processor based on 8x8 arrays of opto-electronic transceiver arrays

Citation Download Citation

Hugo Thienpont "Photonics in digital computing: paradigms and proof-of-principle demonstrators", Proc. SPIE 3749, 18th Congress of the International Commission for Optics, (19 July 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.354744

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
2 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Optoelectronics

Photonics

Lenses

Bridges

Digital photography

Free space optics

Image processing

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years