Impact of thermal effect on reliability in Optical Network-on-Chip

Emerging advances in silicon nanophotonics have driven optical interconnect to be a promising method for intra-chip multi-core system. Optical Network-on-Chip (ONoC) can provide high throughput and low latency compared with traditional electrical ones. However, on-chip thermal effect is an inherent characteristic and chip temperature can fluctuate spatially, which can affect the operation of silicon nanophotonic devices. This leads to an influence on the reliability of communication. This article analyzes the influence of thermal effect on reliability of communication based on the temperature profile in ONoC, showing the relationship between power consumption and thermal effect, as well as the influence of thermal effect on the reliability of communication. We reveal the primary cause of the thermal effect in ONoC and the important factors of the influence on SNR, in order to minimize the thermal impacts and improve the reliability of ONoC in the further study.