Design and optimization of VCSEL-based micro-optical relay systems: bringing optical information to silicon chips

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Abstract
We analyze the potentialities of microlens-based free-space optical pathway blocks for on-chip interconnects. To assess the promises of these modules, researchers typically make use of simple analytic Gaussian beam propagation (GBP). Although this approach leads to a first order layout of a microlens system it does not include aberrations. Aberrations however and -- spherical aberrations in particular -- become important when lenses with a small focal number are implemented. This is especially true when surface emitting lasers with a relative high beam divergence such as e.g. VCSELs are used. In this paper we evaluate how these aberrations affect the performances of such optical interconnection systems and we verify the validity of the GBP method. We enter various GBP layouts in the photonics design software SOLSTIS, which traces real rays or propagates spatially coherent optical beams through the system. We model and compare the performances of different microlens-relay system configurations and we focus on optical efficiency and scalability issues of these micro-optical interconnection components. To conclude we relate optical pathway lengths to minimum microlens diameters and to maximum achievable channel densities.

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