Wavelength division multiple access channel hypercube processor interconnection

A hypercube-based structure in which optical multiple access channels span the dimensional axes is introduced. This severely reduces the required degree, since only one I/O port is required per dimension. However, good performance is maintained through the high-capacity characteristics of optical communication. The reduction in degree is shown to have significant system complexity implications. Four star-coupled configurations are studied as the basis for the optical multiple access channels, three of which exhibit the optical self-routing characteristic. A performance analysis shows that through the integration of agile sources or receivers, and wavelength division multiple access, systems can be developed with significant increases in performance yet at a reduction in communication subsystem complexity