On the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser, Intel has demonstrated a breakthrough photonics chip set that offers 50 gigabits per second built using standard chip making techniques.
Justin Rattner, VP and Chief Technology Officer at Intel, said: “this technology can be scaled to as much as one terabit per second.” He said that photonics is key to faster computers because it is difficult to move electrons fast enough but light can be moved faster over longer distances.
The key to Intel’s breakthrough is that the chips can be built using standard manufacturing processes. Intel is the world leader in chip manufacturing technologies allowing it to build photonics systems at large manufacturing scales, which brings down their cost.
This research prototype represents the world’s first silicon-based optical data connection with integrated lasers. This concept vehicle is the result of a multi-year silicon photonics research agenda, which included numerous “world firsts.” It is composed of a silicon transmitter and a receiver chip, each integrating all the necessary building blocks from previous Intel breakthroughs including the first Hybrid Silicon Laser.
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Tom Foremski is the Editor and Founder of the popular and top-ranked news site Silicon Valley Watcher, reporting on business and culture of innovation. He is a former journalist at the Financial Times and in 2004, became the first journalist from a leading newspaper to resign and become a full-time journalist blogger.
Tom has been reporting on Silicon Valley and the US tech industry since 1984 and has been named as one of the top 50 (#28) most influential bloggers in Silicon Valley. His current focus is on the convergence of media and technology — the making of a new era for Silicon Valley. He also writes a column at ZDNET.
