A perfect marriage: optics and silicon

Integrated silicon-based photonics now running at 50 Ggps, with Terabit speeds on the horizon

Abstract

While computing systems in general and their central processing units (CPUs) in particular continue to experience performance gains, the connections between them are nearing their physical limits. The current workaround – adding a vastly increasing number of copper cables to connect and support a computing environment – has resulted in performance bottlenecks, thermal and airflow issues as well as maintenance and cost ramifications. Although wired connections will always have a prominent role within and between computing devices, many systems and applications will soon demand interconnects that support greater bandwidth across longer distances. Thus forthcoming computing requirements will soon exceed the capabilities of current copper-based links, requiring the need for optical transmission in the future.