Investigation and experimental validation of the contribution of optical interconnects in the SYMPHONIE massively parallel computer

Progress in microelectronics lead to electronic circuits which are increasingly integrated, with an operating frequency and an inputs/outputs count larger than the ones supported by printed circuit board and back-plane technologies. As a result, distributed systems with several boards cannot fully exploit the performance of integrated circuits. In synchronous parallel computers, the situation is worsen since the overall system performances rely on the efficiency of electrical interconnects between the integrated circuits which include the processing elements (PE). The study of a real parallel computer named SYMPHONIE shows for instance that the system operating frequency is far smaller than the capabilities of the microelectronics technology used for the PE implementation. Optical interconnections may cancel these limitations by providing more efficient connections between the PE. Especially, free-space optical interconnections based on vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL), micro-lens and PIN photodiodes are compatible with the required features of the PE communications. Zero bias modulation of VCSEL with CMOS-compatible digital signals is studied and experimentally demonstrated. A model of the propagation of truncated gaussian beams through micro-lenses is developed. It is then used to optimise the geometry of the detection areas. A dedicated mechanical system is also proposed and implemented for integrating free-space optical interconnects in a standard electronic environment, representative of the one of parallel computer systems. A specially designed demonstrator provides the experimental validation of the above physical concepts. (author)