Exploiting emerging technologies for nanoscale photonic networks-on-chip

In this paper, we explore the use of emerging molecular scale devices to construct nanophotonic networks --- called Molecular-scale Network-on-Chip (mNoC). We leverage quantum dot LEDs, which provide electrical to optical signal modulation, and chromophores, which provide optical signal filtering for receivers. These devices replace the ring resonators and the external laser source used in contemporary nanophotonic NoCs. We present different crossbar structures such as Single Writer Multiple Reader (SWMR) etc. We also discuss implications of the new mNoC crossbar on overall system design. An mNoC SWMR crossbar can scale up to radix 256 and our preliminary evaluation shows that it reduces over 50% average packet latency and 40% power consumption compared with ring-based alternative.