Fiber coupling using collimated beams

An optical interconnect uses large 2-dimensional matrices of optoelectronic chips. The optoelectronic chips are placed directly above the analog circuitry required to drive them and with the microlens array placed on top of the optoelectronic chip. A single microlens array is assembled directly on top of the 2-dimensional optoelectronic chip. The optoelectronic chips may include vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) for signal generation and p-i-n photodiodes for signal detection. A bundle of optical fibers or waveguides with a layout identical to the optoelectronic chips is used for optical data transfer between constituents of the optical communication system.