Abstract

Parallel operation of large two dimensional optical I/Os can provide the throughput needed in electronic applications. These I/Os need to be placed close to digital circuits to minimize the latency. Simultaneous operation of this large array along with the operation of nearby digital circuits generates noise on the supply in the form of switching noise. The magnitude of this noise can be 100s of mV. Noise on the chip is also generated by carrier injection into the substrate. We demonstrate the operation of a link with high immunity to supply and substrate noise. A total link power penalty of only 0.12 dB/100 mV of receiver supply noise was observed. Link performance was unaffected by substrate noise injection from a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). This high immunity can be attributed to the differential nature of the receiver. The effect of supply noise and crosstalk on electrically single-ended receivers has been studied.^1,2 To the best of our knowledge, however, this is the first demonstration of the operation of an entire chip-to-chip optical link with modulators and electrically differential receivers quantifying the effect of supply and substrate noise.

© 2002 Optical Society of America