Date: 12/03/2012
IBM makes a prototype optical chip set operating at speeds of 1000000 MB/s
IBM scientists have presented a prototype of terabit/second (1000GB/s) speed capable optical chipset named as "Holey Optochip" at Optical Fiber Communication Conference in Los Angeles. This speed is very high compared to the present typical 10Mb/s. It is like downloading 1 year data in few minutes.
The terabit speeds are required when the commuication goes for more live inteactive video and things like that.
IBM Researcher Clint Schow says, we aim to improve on the technology for commercialization in the next decade with the collaboration of manufacturing partners.
To design faster mobile phones optical is the way out and researchers are looking for ways to make use of optical signals within standard low-cost, high-volume semiconductor chip manufacturing techniques.
IBM shared below points on this technology:
IBM labs has developed this Holey Optochip by fabricating 48 holes through a standard silicon CMOS chip. The holes allow optical access through the back of the chip to 24 receiver and 24 transmitter channels to produce an ultra-compact, high-performing and power-efficient optical module capable of record setting data transfer rates.
Holey Optochip module is constructed with components that are commercially available today, providing the possibility to manufacture at economies of scale.
The transceiver consumes less than five watts.
Parallel optics is a fiber optic technology primarily targeted for high-data, short-reach multimode fiber systems that are typically less than 150 meters. Parallel optics differs from traditional duplex fiber optic serial communication in that data is simultaneously transmitted and received over multiple optical fibers.
A single 90-nanometer IBM CMOS transceiver IC with 24 receiver and 24 transmitter circuits becomes a Holey Optochip with the fabrication of forty-eight through-silicon holes, or "optical vias" - one for each transmitter and receiver channel. Simple post-processing on completed CMOS wafers with all devices and standard wiring levels results in an entire wafer populated with Holey Optochips. The transceiver chip measures only 5.2 mm x 5.8 mm. Twenty-four channel, industry-standard 850-nm VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) and photodiode arrays are directly flip-chip soldered to the Optochip. This direct packaging produces high-performance, chip-scale optical engines. The Holey Optochips are designed for direct coupling to a standard 48-channel multimode fiber array through an efficient microlens optical system that can be assembled with conventional high-volume packaging tools.
Electronics Engineering Herald
Photomicrograph of the back of the IBM Holey Optochip with lasers and photodectors visible through substrate holes.
Also at the OFC Conference, IBM researchers have presented the following advances:
Two optical links that are the most power efficient ever reported. Underpinned by a novel receiver design, a complete single-channel VCSEL based link achieved 15Gb/s operation while consuming only 20 miliwatts of power. This represents the first practical demonstration of an optical interconnect that attains the efficiency levels that will be required for exascale computers circa 2020.
A complete single-channel 40 Gb/s VCSEL-based optical link that not only sets a new benchmark for speed, but also operates at this high data rate with significant margin. Transmitter pre-distortion for end-to-end link performance improvement, an equalization technique that IBM has pioneered, enabled this breakthrough.