Lightwave Analogue Links For LHC Detector Front-ends

The requirements on optical links for transferring analog and digital signals from the detector front-ends to the readout electronics at future high-luminosity colliders are reviewed. The advantages of external modulation techniques are discussed. An outline is given of the the R&D programme recently started at CERN by a collaboration involving high-energy physics institutes, optoelectronics research laboratories and industry, in order to develop electro-optic intensity modulator arrays, particularly for analogue applications, and to investigate the feasibility of volume production. The design of multichannel demonstrators in lithium niobate and III-V semiconductor technology is described. Preliminary results of the performance measurements are presented.