Patent ID: 8346087

Claim:
A system, comprising: an array of chip modules (CMs) that includes N subsets of CMs, each of which includes M CMs, wherein a given CM in the array includes a semiconductor die that is configured to communicate data signals with one or more adjacent CMs through electromagnetic communication using proximity connectors; wherein the proximity connectors are coupled to a surface of the semiconductor die; wherein the given CM is configured to communicate optical signals with other CMs through an optical signal path using optical communication, wherein the given CM is coupled to CMs in a given subset by a first optical signal path and is coupled to other subsets by a second optical signal path, and wherein the optical signal paths are configured for bidirectional communication of information between the CMs; wherein the optical signals are encoded using wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), wherein CMs in the array communicate with the given CM using optical signals in a sub-channel on the first optical signal path or on the second optical signal path that is associated with a given wavelength in a set of wavelengths, and wherein communicating with the given CM using the optical signals in the sub-channel comprises removing optical signals having the given wavelength from the optical signal path for the sub-channel without removing other optical signals from the optical signal path for the sub-channel.