OPTOELECTRONIC MULTICHIP MODULES FOR HIGH-SPEED COMPUTER-SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATION-NETWORKS

The demand for communication delay and connectivity improvements sugge sts that optoelectronic multichip modules (OE-MCMs), utilizing photoni c and electronic technologies, may provide practical solutions for hig h-speed interconnection problems at the module level. Design and fabri cation issues for integrating optical waveguide and multiple metal lay ers on a single substrate are described to facilitate the practical im plementation of OE-MCMs. In particular, innovative device structures a nd fabrication strategies are proposed such that OE-MCMs can be fabric ated in a batch mode by a well-established IC fabrication process with out causing any fabrication compatibility problems. The proposed OE-MC Ms utilize optoelectronic interconnection, multichip module packaging, and MEMS fabrication technologies at the module level, and the feasib ility of the proposed OE-MCMs has been demonstrated through the fabric ation, assembly, and characterization of prototypes. (C) 1997 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.