Intel Speeds Up Silicon Photonics

[Som@li]

Monday, January 22, 2007

 

Intel Speeds Up Silicon Photonics

Researchers at Intel have announced the world's fastest silicon modulator--an advance that could cut bandwidth costs and make computers run faster and cooler.By Kate Greene

 

Today's computer processors are strictly electronic devices, transmitting data by means of electrons traveling through copper wires. But this technology is relatively slow and produces heat. Now, researchers at Intel have developed an optical device that could play a key role in replacing electrons and copper wires with photons and beams of light. The team has demonstrated a record-breaking silicon modulator that can encode data at a rate of 30 gigabits per second--nearly as fast as many nonsilicon modulators currently used in fiber optics hardware.

 

A silicon modulator that can operate at these speeds, says Mario Paniccia, Intel research fellow and director of the Silicon Photonics Technology Lab, could make it possible to design faster computers that include photonic chips. In addition, Paniccia says, it could be part of an all-silicon photonic chip that might be used in fiber optic networks. Since silicon devices are easy to mass-produce and relatively inexpensive, the chips could replace more expensive network hardware, reducing the cost of bandwidth.

 

>>> Intel Speeds Up Silicon Photonics

[Jacaylbaro]

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