COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC INTERCONNECTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR LARGE ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE PACKET-SWITCHING APPLICATIONS

The hardware and power requirements for a large asynchronous transfer mode packet switch that is implemented using several different mixes of optical and electronic (metallic) interconnections are studied. The optical interconnections are based on free-space digital optics, and the metallic interconnections are based on state-of-the-art electronic packaging technologies. The advantages and disadvantages of each of the different interconnection technologies are explored. These results should help researchers identify the areas that require improvement within each of the technologies. They should also be useful to designers of future systems who must select an appropriate interconnection and packaging technology.