ECCS- 0747768 Azita Emami-Neyestanak, Caltech
The objective of this research is the development of high-performance electro-optical interconnections in advanced integrated systems. The growing gap between the speed of data-processing and the bandwidth of chip-to-chip and intra-chip interfaces will be eliminated by the efficient combination of electrical and optical signaling techniques. The approach is to use scalable and robust circuit and system-level solutions that are suitable for deep submicron technologies and allow the integration of thousands of high-speed inputs and outputs. These solutions include all-digital techniques for clock and data recovery, switched-capacitor equalization and cross-talk cancellation, integrating optical receivers and efficient laser drivers.
Intellectual merit: High-bandwidth interconnections are critical components of complex integrated systems such as multi-processors, servers, internet routers and biomedical devices. They will be even more important in the future three-dimensional integrated systems. This project has a strong multidisciplinary nature involving mixed-signal integrated circuits, optical devices, communication systems, and design tools for mixed-signal systems. The low-power optical and electrical interfaces that will be developed can be used in many other fields such as biochemistry and neuroscience.
Broader Impact: An important objective of this project is to engage students at different educational stages and from underrepresented groups, and to provide them with strong and broad foundations to tackle future multidisciplinary projects. Moreover, this project will be beneficial to a new undergraduate multidisciplinary course. Results from the research and educational components will be published and presented in scientific journals, conferences and workshops. These results can bring significant benefits to our society by impacting healthcare, IT, environment and security.
