A Novel MDM-Based Optical Networks-on-Chip With Reliability Analysis

Ever-increasing demands for lower power loss, shorter transmission delay, and higher communication capacity have been a challenge in optical networks-on-chips (ONoCs). To address this, various multiplexing technologies have been proposed and applied to optical interconnection networks. Among these, Mode-Division Multiplexing (MDM) technology stands out for its ability to significantly enhance network throughput and reduce communication delays by simultaneously transmitting multiple-mode optical signals through a multi-mode waveguide, making it a compelling research area. In this paper, we propose a flexible and scalable multi-mode optical switching element (MOSE) that adjusts transmitted optical signals by modifying its structure. A multi-mode optical router (MOR) based on the proposed MOSE is introduced, followed by the design of MDM-based optical mesh networks-on-chip (MMONoCs) that support parallel transmission of multiple TE-polarization mode optical signals. Additionally, loss and crosstalk models for multi-mode optical devices, including MOSE and MOR, are systematically established. In conclusion, the loss, OSNR, and BER for three TE-polarization modes (TE0, TE1, and TE2) at different network scales are analyzed using MOR as a specific example. The findings indicate that the scalability of MMONoC and its communication quality are mainly influenced by mode crosstalk noise. Furthermore, network performance metrics, including End-to-End (ETE) delay and throughput, are discussed based on two-mode (TE0, TE1) and three-mode (TE0, TE1, and TE2) optical signals at 1550 nm in 4 × 4 and 5 × 5 optical mesh networks. Simulation results demonstrate that MMONoC exhibits significant improvements in ETE delay and throughput compared to traditional single-mode optical modes.