Optical Printed Circuit Board (O-PCB) and VLSI Photonics

초록

This lecture presents a comprehensive review and overview on the cutting-edge frontier science and engineering of micro/nano-photonic integration for VLSI photonic application. It discusses on the theory, design, fabrication, and integration of micro/nano-photonic devices, circuits, chips, and networks in the form of “VLSI photonic integrated circuits”(VLSI-PICs) and “optical micro/nano-networks (O-MNNs)” of generic and application-specific nature on a platform that we call “optical printed circuit boards” (O-PCBs). These systems are designed to be compact, intelligent, high-speed, light-weight, environmentally friendly, low-powered, and low-cost as applicable for datacom, telecom, transportation, aero-space, avionics, bio/medical, sensor, and environmental systems. The O-PCBs, VLSI-PICs and O-MNNs process optical signals through optical wires whereas the traditional E-PCBs, VLSI-ICs, and electrical networks process electrical signals through electrical wires. The VLSI photonic systems are designed to overcome the limitations of the VLSI electrical systems and are also designed to integrate convergent IT/BT/NT micro/nano-devices, circuits, and chips for broad based applications and usages. The new optical systems consist of 2-dimensional planar arrays of optical wires, circuits and devices of micro/nano-scale to perform the functions of sensing, storing, transporting, processing, switching, routing and distributing optical signals on flat modular boards or substrates.