Posted in Military & Defense

North Carolina State Partners with Raytheon and SRI on Photonic Chip Interconnects for Optical Computing

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North Carolina State Partners with Raytheon and SRI on Photonic Chip-to-Chip Interconnects for Optical Computing

March 21, 2025

North Carolina State University (NCSU) has teamed up with Raytheon (RTX) and SRI International as part of the Heterogenous Adaptively Produced Photonic Interfaces (HAPPI) program, backed by a $4.7 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

DARPA initiates HAPPI program

The HAPPI initiative focuses on developing 3D chip-to-chip and intra-chip photonic interconnects aimed at enhancing information throughput while minimizing susceptibility to electromagnetic interference. The project is designed to boost operational efficiencies and enable faster data transfer rates.

The collaboration will explore technologies for optical computing through the creation of low-loss, high-density optical interconnects that integrate with existing microelectronics in a scalable manufacturing framework.

Advancements in 3D Optical Links

HAPPI’s primary goal is to establish high-density 3D chip optical links and support multiple routing planes within photonic integrated circuits or interposers. This collaboration involves rigorous hardware demonstrations that will facilitate substantial improvements in optical computing technology.

Key aspects of the project include:

  • Vertical connectivity options that allow routing signals through varying substrate thickness
  • Advanced integrations for coupling light across photonic chips, avoiding traditional chip-to-fiber methods
  • Development of robust optical interfaces to address fabrication and assembly variances

DARPA is pushing for an evolution in microsystem alignment capabilities to ensure operational efficiency, particularly in extensive linking arrays.

Designing Adaptive and Robust Interfaces

The three entities will also strategize on developing adaptive interfaces that provide resilient optical performance under varying environmental and mechanical conditions. The aim is to align these innovative technologies closely with the current processes in microelectronics manufacturing.

These interfaces will be vital for connecting photonic integrated circuits with optoelectronic components such as sources, amplifiers, modulators, multiplexers, and filters across various wavelengths, including visible and near-infrared sections of the spectrum.

Driving Information Transmission Density

The HAPPI program is structured over a 36-month period, consisting of two phases. The first 18 months will focus on proving the feasibility of the proposed 3D routing methods in integrated photonics, while the second phase aims to validate the scalability and manufacturability of these high-density platforms.

This ground-breaking effort strives for an impressive 1000x increase in information transmission density within microsystem applications, leveraging photonic signaling to allow efficient information processing in sectors such as digital computing, signal processing, remote sensing, and atomic sensing.

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For a deeper dive into this collaboration and its implications for future technologies, read the original article here.

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