Intel recently showcased a new technology that integrates an optical I/O chiplet with a CPU. This design features a fully integrated chiplet that uses a new silicon photonics DWDM optical chiplet with significantly lower energy consumption compared to pluggable modules.
Despite selling its Silicon Photonics plug-in business to Jabil, Intel continues to demonstrate its new optical interconnect chiplet. The chiplet combines a PIC and an EIC with built-in lasers. This technology represents a move towards integrating optical interconnects onto the chip itself, leading to significant energy savings compared to current AI servers that rely on external pluggable optical modules.
Previously, Intel had plans to introduce a chiplet-based optical module called the “light master” that aimed to fit into the power envelope of an HBM package. The goal was to enable data input and output from chips at a lower power cost and with increased bandwidth.
Intel’s approach of integrating the light source into the chiplet is noteworthy. The company also mentioned having a new silicon photonics factory process node and working with customers to integrate future versions. Additionally, Intel has a roadmap to scale the “Mirror Bay” generation interconnect from 2 Tbps to 32 Tbps.
Overall, Intel’s advancements in optical computing interconnect chiplets showcase the company’s commitment to innovation in the field of silicon photonics. By integrating optical components directly onto the CPU chip, Intel is paving the way for more efficient and high-performance computing solutions in the future.
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