Computer-generated hologram etched in GaAs for optical interconnection of VLSI circuits

By integrating, on a wafer plane GaAs semiconductor optoelectronic modulators and detectors with computer-generated holograms (CGH) between then, the potential for in-plane interconnections is proposed. The authors report the fabrication and characterisation of a binary-phase relief hologram etched in a GaAs wafer using an averaged Fresnel zone plate design to focus light to 2*2 spots for array interconnection. Efficiencies of 28% for this design of binary CGH etched in GaAs have been achieved, close to the theoretical maximum.