Optical interconnections for digital systems

The replacement of electrical lines and connectors by free space or guided-wave optics in high-performance digital systems is discussed. Components for such systems are considered, and prototype systems are described. Optical interconnections with only a laser, two lenses, and a detector are possible and such a free-space board-to-board interconnection has been demonstrated at 1 Gb/s with an average power dissipation of only about 40 mW