The present disclosure relates to an optical communication device, a reception apparatus, a transmission apparatus, and a transmission and reception system.
With the recent development of information-oriented society, an information processing apparatus such as personal computers (PCs) and servers handles an explosively increasing amount of information (the amount of data or signal). With such an increase in the amount of data, there is a growing necessity to transmit and receive more data between apparatus, devices, and chips at higher speed.
As an example, in a processor such as central processing units (CPUs) used in computers, the increase in its speed and functionality is progressing. In related art, the transmission and reception of data between processors are mainly carried out, for example, by using electrical signals through copper wiring on a substrate. However, the high-speed data transmission carried out by using such data transmission technology employing electrical signals (electrical communication or interconnect technology) causes problems of RC signal delay, impedance mismatching, EMC/EMI, and crosstalk, which makes it difficult to further increase data transmission speed.
Thus, the optical communication technology that modulates electrical signals into optical data and transmits data using light (or optical interconnect technology) has been developed as data transmission technology that can be substituted for the electrical communication technology. For example, JP 2005-181610A discloses a socket for optical communication that includes an installation part for installing an optical waveguide, a light emitting element for making light incident to the optical waveguide, and a light receiving element for receiving light emitted from the optical waveguide. In this socket, at least one of the light emitting element and the light receiving element is arranged corresponding to the optical waveguide. In addition, JP 2007-25310A discloses a technique that makes a socket for optical communication thinner by defining a recess in the socket and fitting an interposer substrate into the recess.