Intel's Silicon Photonics Link Transmits Data at 50Gbps
Intel's Silicon Photonics Link Transmits Data at 50Gbps
Posted 07/28/2010 at 12:28pm
| by Pulkit Chandna
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Electron have done a great job ferrying our data. But electronic signals are no longer the answer for humanity's constant craving for greater data speeds. The world is a step closer to replacing electronic signals with light beams for data links in and around computers, thanks to a breakthrough at Intel Labs. The Santa Clara chip maker has designed the world's first silicon-based optical data link, which is capable of moving data at 50 gigabits per second (Gbps) over long distances and promises tera-scale data rates in the future.
“Today computer components are connected to each other using copper cables or traces on circuit boards. Due to the signal degradation that comes with using metals such as copper to transmit data, these cables have a limited maximum length. This limits the design of computers, forcing processors, memory and other components to be placed just inches from each other,” Intel said in a press release. But the chip maker expects the Silicon Photonics Link to effect a revolution in computer design, with its impact reverberating throughout the computer industry – from data centers to consumer electronics.
Intel's latest effort should not be confused with its Light Peak technology, which is meant as “a multi-protocol 10Gbps optical connection” to supplant existing computer bus technologies like USB, FireWire, HDMI and SATA.
Image Credit: Intel
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kuaile
August 25, 2010 at 4:35pm
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Lhot
July 29, 2010 at 1:25am
This will FINALLY allow motherboards to have thier components re-arranged to allow for better air flow, room for larger chipset heat sinks etc. What I don't understand is..if this Silicon Photonics Link can xmit data at 50Gb/s over distance, of what use would Intels earlier Light Peak Technology serve? Why not just use 50Gb/s for ....everything....USB, Firewire, HDMI and SATA? Then all we do is wait for the components to catch up. I would imagine the technology will be much easier to implemnt if all the connections, traces, circuits whatever, were all fiber.
Seems kinda silly to fiber-ize 75% of a motherboard and then leave the external connections running at 10Gb/s.
I would also imagine that when they do use fiber throughout the motherboard...that the motherboards will have to be ...thicker....unlike copper traces, flexing a motherboard with glass fiber traces would break the fibers. Even so, I for one can't wait....I'm so sick of the word "bottleneck" I could scream. Now we won't NEED the grfx component in the same can as the CPU. Which I think is a GOOD idea. I like to be able to choose how much grfx oomph I want, rather than have the CPU manufacturer do so.
Great job Intel !!
bloodgain
July 31, 2010 at 11:31am
I believe the answer to that question, Lhot, is cost. For the first several years after it is introduced, I imagine this technology will be too prohibitively expensive to implement as a replacement to every connection inside and outside of a computer. On a lower end, Light Peak will probably have the same cost problem.
A second reason is near-legacy support. Many devices and peripherals will still rely on physical connections (made up mostly of copper) to communicate. USB keyboards, mice, headsets, game controllers, hard drives, flash drives, etc. will still be plentiful and too expensive to replace all at once. Larger, more expensive devices such as TVs and monitors will still rely on HDMI, DVI, and (maybe) DisplayPort. Again, the issue here is marketability due to cost of replacement.
I expect what we'll see is a fairly rapid shift toward internal PC components and specialized machine cross-links to this 50Gbps SPL, alongside the 10Gbps LPT link. Slots for for PCI-E cards and other internal components will likely be phased out more slowly for optical connections while legacy connections remain. Finally, we will see a slow shift toward multiple optical-based external data connections, or perhaps 1-2 unified optical connections. External legacy connections will likely be around for much longer, just as PS/2, serial, and parallel connections are still available years after any true need.
Consider the last time you truly needed a floppy drive -- to install a RAID driver during a Windows XP install? Even that was short-sightedness by Microsoft and could be side-stepped by slipstreaming your install disc. Yet floppy ports exist even on high-end motherboards. The legacy needs of end-users, and primarily commercial end-users, drives the computer marketplace as much or more as the speed race ever has.
thetechchild
July 28, 2010 at 7:30pm
How many idiots and sarcastic lazies are out there? Jeez. (Don't answer that, the number will scare me)
ericorr, the light is transmitted over a WIRE. As in, fiber optics, which cannot be disrupted by anything short of cutting open the wire and screwing around with it. And how does it help? 50Gbps. FIFTY. SATA III, which is still new, runs at 6Gb/s. What's more, you could spread out all the parts of your computer far apart, which would definitely increase cooling efficiency. This could also work out well, if, for instance, we used it as the fiber optic backbone of the Internet. (Google Internet2, it's awesome)
eric0rr
July 28, 2010 at 3:03pm
if this works, then what can we expect to gain? im mainly thinking that components can be spaced farther away from eachother making the cooling situation much easy inside a desktop, but if not properly maintained i think the signal strength go die fast, i mean the light has to hit something, but if u put something in the way, or something gets knocked loose, couldn't it kill the signal? right?
Biceps
July 28, 2010 at 4:40pm
Well Eric, here is the thing. You can significantly overclock your computer using light. The easiest way to do this is with a good flashlight. Just open up the side of your computer case, and get a flashlight (or more than one, the more you get, the faster it will go).
So, basically, you want to find a way to get the light to shine onto the computer. The way I do it, is I duct-taped 6 flashlights (3 Maglights, and two smaller keychain flashlights, plus a cheap plastic one, just for good measure) to the back of a chair; make sure when you tape them, they are all facing the same way!!! Then, just position the chair so the flashlights are shining INTO the computer case. You'll probably have to leave the side of your case off, but it is worth it for the increase in speed you get.
That is really all there is to it. Forget adding RAM as the 'poor man's upgrade', I am all for flashlights and duct tape. Just don't stick your hand between the flashlights and the mobo when the computer is running - it could crash. :)
Biceps
July 28, 2010 at 4:43pm
And when you are done with that, I will show you how to make a Snicker's bar using nothing but a handful of peanuts!
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