Optical Interconnect Technology

High speed interconnects for very short distance communications links

Winner 2007 WA Inventor of the Year Competition (Early Stage Category)

Fibre optic technology now dominates medium to long distance data communications links due to its greater overall bandwidth, immunity to electro-magnetic interference, and lower losses. However, the use of optical interconnects over very short distances has been limited by the available optical technology and the prohibitive cost in comparison to electrical technology.

The amount of data transferred electronically around the world is doubling every year, and conventional electrical interconnects are not capable of supporting future rates. As a result, the international computing, communications and semiconductor industries are actively looking for alternative solutions for board-to-board, chip-to-chip, and intra-chip interconnects.

The immediately addressable market for board-to-board and chip-to-chip optical interconnects is projected to reach USD 1 billion by 2011, with the use of high speed interconnects within and between high end computing and networking equipment.

The technology is highly scalable and also lends itself to widespread use within personal computers, consumer devices and cars, each representing a multi-billion dollar interconnect market segments. In addition, intra-chip optical interconnects have the potential to become an essential technology for the USD 255 billion semiconductor industry over the coming five to ten years.

The technology is a significant step in the quest to "siliconize" photonics. The key advantages of the technology are its:

1. ability to be cost effectively produced;
2. very small size;
3. ability to be integrated with micro-electronic (silicon) chips;
4. low power consumption and thermal losses; and
5. its ability to transmit data through glass fibre, plastic optical fibre, polymer waveguides, or free space.

The technology has been jointly developed by the WA Centre of Excellence for MicroPhotonic Systems at ECU and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) In Korea. A proof of concept demonstrator has been successfully completed, and ECU and GIST jointly hold three patents related to the technology.

The manufacture and optimisation of a multi-channel demonstrator is currently underway. The next technical milestone is the development of a pre-production prototype.

A spin-out company is planned to exploit this business opportunity, and is expected to be investment ready in 2009.