We calculate the expected number of internodal hops for a network esta
blished with a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) two-dimensional (
2-D) multiple-plane optical interconnection. This WDM optical intercon
nection incorporates WDM pixels consisting of multiple-wavelength vert
ical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays and wavelength-selec
tive detectors, The WDM interconnection can support simultaneous and r
econfigurable communication among a network of nodes, Using the expect
ed number of hops as a measure of internodal switching delay, we show
that the integration of WDM into the interconnection results in a sign
ificantly reduced delay as compared to single-wavelength systems, Subs
tantial delay reduction results even when the number of wavelengths is
small relative to the number of 2-D planes. We analyze the bus, dual-
bus, and ring architectures since they define the means of communicati
on between pixels, For each architecture, we analyze three configurati
ons which provide each node access to i) an entire plane of pixels, ii
) a row (or column) of pixels, or iii) an individual pixel. When each
network node has access to an entire plane of pixels, the proposed WDM
interconnection incurs substantially shorter delay than single-wavele
ngth optical interconnections. By allowing a node to access an entire
row or column of pixels, the interconnection benefits from the incorpo
ration of spatial division multiplexing (SDM) and the number of nodes
connected can grow substantially with negligible added delay, Finally,
when a node can access only a single pixel, a large number of indepen
dent processors can be interconnected exhibiting far less switching de
lay than other electronic or optical interconnections of comparable si
ze.