Abstract: The present invention provides an exterior skin for a vehicle that includes angularly distributed, individual, fiber-optic elements formed into the exterior skin of a composite, metal, or other material matrix. The vehicle exterior lighting system includes a central light source for providing optical energy of a desired luminescence. A plurality of optical channels of the lighting system transmit the optical energy and are formed from an optically conductive material. The optically conductive material associates through the outer skin of the structural material. The optical channels include terminating ends of the optically conductive material and are essentially flush with the outer skin of the structural material. This permits transmitting the optical energy through the structural material. The invention also includes means for transmitting the optical energy from the central light source to the optical channels.

Abstract: An optical waveguide H-tree design is provided for global clock distribution on multichip modules (MCM) which has nearly zero clock skew and is useful for a distributed computer system environment. The optical waveguide H-tree design utilizes channel waveguides, curved sections and directional couplers formed using silica glass and silicon oxynitride (SiON) channel waveguide technologies. A hybrid combination of both SiON and silica glass is disclosed which has the advantages of each. The achievable clock speed is limited by the laser diode source and photodiode receiver at each chip module, and not by the optical waveguide distribution network. The high-speed optical waveguide can be configured to transmit clock signals, or for use as a multi-wavelength communication network that communicates signals to various integrated circuits (ICs) mounted on the multichip module. This is achieved using multiple laser diodes having different output wavelengths and directing their outputs into an optical multiplexer.