A multi-FPGA demonstrator with POF-based optical area interconnect

It is our goal to demonstrate the viability of massively parallel optical interconnects between electronic VLSI chips. This is done through the development of the technology necessary for the realisation of such interconnections, and the definition and realisation of a systems architecture in which these interconnections play a meaningful role. Multi-FPGA systems have been identified as a good candidate for the introduction of low level optoelectronic interconnects, from both the systems and the purely demonstrator related points of view. An optoelectronic FPGA demonstrator along these lines is currently being realised. This involves besides the actual CMOS FPGA, the design and implementation of various light sources and detectors, as well as the analogue CMOS interface circuits; the building blocks of the optical pathways, which are based upon plastic optical fibre; and the methodology for hybrid assembly, packaging and passive alignment of all components. The optoelectronic FPGA demonstrator aims at using a smart-pixel like interconnect structure to create a logically 3-dimensional architecture