SBIR Phase I: Terabit/sec, Ultra-Broadband Free-Space Optical Interconnect

*** 9661015凯恩这个小企业创新研究一期项目将研究一种新型的Tbit/s全光交叉棒互连。由于缺乏高比特率交换机和互连，全光纤网络的全部潜力没有得到充分利用；最先进的电子横条不能适应高于几百Mbit/s的比特率。商业上可用的全光互连（能够处理高比特率）表现出缓慢的重新配置速度，不容易扩展到路由大量输入信号，并且通常脆弱且对环境干扰敏感。revo发明了一种独特的基于偏振的全光互连，克服了现有技术的限制，具有Tbit/s容量，快速（微秒到纳秒）重构速度，超宽频谱带宽，低插入损耗，低串扰，稳健的全固态结构，低功耗和简单的可扩展性。这种交叉互连利用强大的网络架构，包括Benes、shuffle-exchange、omega、PM2I和revo的PM2K设计。我们独特的硬件安排将允许在任何波长范围内操作的交叉开关的开发和商业化。第一阶段的研究将集中在概念验证和小型交叉装置的表征上。在第二阶段，我们将开发互连光学材料，并将开发更大的（8X8）开关。第三阶段将专注于这项新技术的商业化和生产。拟议的技术将立即应用于电信、网络和背板互连，因为这种交叉互连将与现有的电信基础设施兼容。据估计，到1998年，光互连市场将继续以每年29%的速度增长，1998-2003年每年增长23% （Laser Focus World, 1994）。＊＊＊

*** 9661015 Kane The This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate a novel Tbit/sec, all-optical crossbar interconnect. The full potential of all-fiber networks is not fully exploited owing to the lack of high-bit-rate switches and interconnects; state-of-the-art electronic crossbars cannot accommodate bit rates higher that several hundred Mbit/sec. Commerciallyavailable all-optical interconnects (capable of handling high bit rates) exhibit slow reconfiguration speeds, are not easily scaled to route large numbers of input signals, and are often fragile and sensitive to environmental disturbances. Reveo has invented a unique polarization-based all-optical interconnect which overcomes the limitations of existing technology, and features Tbit/sec capacity, fast (microsecond to nanosecond) reconfiguration speed, ultra-broad spectral bandwidth, low insertion loss, low crosstalk, robust all-solid-state construction, low power consumption, and simple scaleability. This crossbar interconnect utilizes powerful network architectures, including Benes, shuffle-exchange, omega, PM2I, and Reveo's PM2K design. Our unique hardware arrangement will allow for the development and commercialization of crossbar switches which can be operated in any wavelength regime. Phase I research will focus on proof of concept, and characterization of a small crossbar device. In Phase II we will develop materials for the interconnect optics, and will develop larger (8X8) switches. Phase III will focus on commercialization and manufacturing of this novel technology. The proposed technology will have immediate applications in telecommunications, networking, and back-plane interconnections, as this crossbar interconnect will be compatible with the existing telecommunications infrastructure. It has been estimated that the market for optical interconnects will continue to grow at an annual rate of 29% per year through 1998, and 23% per year from 1998-2003 (Laser Focus World, 1994). ***