8×8 array of cascadable optical thyristor devices forfree-space parallel optical interconnects

摘要

We conceived a novel layer structure for optical thyristors, whichgreatly enhances the input-light sensitivity of such devices, We presentmeasurements showing that a differential pair of our thyristors is, toour knowledge, the fastest and most sensitive cascadableemitter/receiver device existing today, capable of detecting opticalpulses, emitted from a similar device, of 0.14 femtoJoule/μm2 at a clock rate of 12 MHz. These thyristor pairs can, moreover,be integrated into compact 2-dimensional arrays. We demonstrate a fullyfunctional monolithic array of 8×8 pairs. This work is acommendable step towards low-power, fast and parallel opticalinterconnects