Optical interconnects at the chip and board level: challenges and solutions

This paper discusses short-distance optical interconnects for general-purpose distributed digital systems. We describe the technology required to optically interconnect elements that are distributed across multiple packaging layers. This includes chips on a board, boards in a backplane, and shelves within a bay. The focus of this paper will be on technology capable of supporting high-data-rate, two-dimensional, optical communication using two-dimensional parallel optical interconnects.