WADIMOS is an EU-funded research project to develop a photonic interconnect layer in CMOS. Partners in the project, led by the French research organization LETI, include STMicroelectronics, MAPPER Lithography, the Lyon Institute of Nanotechnologies (INL), and the University of Trento.

LETI has completed specific laser source studies to adapt and modify standard III-V material processing steps for compatibility in a CMOS environment. LETI replaced the gold-based metal contacts with a Ti/TiN/metallic component. The circuits were processed on 200 mm diameter wafers at LETI's facilities.
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WADIMOS partners presented their results at SPIE Photonics Europe 2010, held in Brussels from April 12-16.

The enormous computing power of the multi-processor systems and manufacturing tools under consideration requires data transfer rates exceeding 100 Terabits/s. These types of data may be required on chips, for example, in multi-core processors, which are expected to need total on-chip data rates of up to 100 TB/s by 2015, or off-chip, for example, in short-distance data interconnects, which require up to 100 TB/s over distances of 10–100 meters. Optical interconnects are the only viable technology for transmitting these amounts of data.

In addition to high data rates, optical interconnects also allow for greater flexibility through the use of WDM (Wide-Digital Module). This feature can help in the development of smarter interconnection systems, such as the on-chip optical network system that the WADIMOS project is also exploring.

WADIMOS, short for Wavelength Division Multiplexed Photonic Layer on CMOS, will construct a complex photonic interconnect layer by incorporating multichannel microsources, microdetectors, and various advanced wavelength routing functions directly integrated with electronic driver circuitry. It will also demonstrate the application of electro-photonic integrated circuits in an on-chip optical network and a terabit optical data link.