MUFINS

Multi-functional Integrated Arrays of Interferometric Switches

Project status

Completed in 2007

CIP involvement

CIP was the SME industrial technology provider to the project. We were responsible for delivering the hybrid integrated circuits to the systems partners as well as the epitaxial material and device packaging for our university partners.

About MUFINS

Even though general purpose, all-optical processing is still a long way off, there are specialized applications in high data rate telecommunications and networking, where ultra high speed, low complexity all-optical circuits are ideally suited. The next key step in all-optical technology evolution is to develop the means to manufacture compact and low cost arrays of all-optical gates, that is, to develop the capability for the VLSI of all-optical gates.

MUFINS combines the efforts of 8 European research groups as the first step in this direction. MUFINS aims to demonstrate 2 and 4 element monolithically integrated arrays of packaged and pigtailed InGaAsP, 2x2 all-optical switches on single InP substrates for operation at 10 and 40 Gb/s. Two integration techniques will be used. The first will use active/passive integration based on regrowth and the second will use the Active Vertical Coupling technique to produce arrays of all-optical switches. The performance of the discrete 2 and 4 element arrays will be evaluated in multigate all-optical circuits such as, Header Extraction, Clock and Data Recovery, Time Slot Interchanger, 4-wavelength Burst Mode Receiver, Half and Full-Adder and a 4x4 all-optical Switching Matrix. Finally MUFINS will demonstrate a 3 gate, 40 Gb/s all-optical Burst Mode Receiver hybridly integrated on a PLC sub-mount. The choice of the evaluation experiments was such as to show that generic, multi-element arrays of integrated all-optical gates can find application in different domains. By drawing through different application pools, MUFINS intends to assure that the developed multi-gate elements can have an adequate market to support them as products after the end of the project.

Web site: http://mufins.cti.gr/

Partners

RACTI (Greece), CIP (UK), Siemens (Portugal), Telecom Italia (Italy), TU/e (Netherlands), University of Essex (UK), University of Bristol (UK).