Intel introduced its first fully integrated optical input/output (I/O) chiplet at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference in 2024. The Optical Computing Interconnect (OCI) chiplet is designed to provide high bandwidth, low power consumption, and extended range I/O connectivity between CPUs and GPUs. This chiplet supports 64 PCIe 5.0 channels, each transmitting at 32 GT/s in both directions, totaling 4 Tbps over distances up to 100 meters using fiber optics. It utilizes dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) wavelengths and consumes only five picojoules per bit, making it more power efficient than traditional optical transceiver modules.
The integration of optical interconnects is essential for next-generation data centers and AI/HPC applications. The OCI chiplet enables high-performance connections for CPU and GPU clusters, coherent memory expansion, and resource disaggregation, which are crucial for operating supercomputers handling large-scale AI models and machine learning tasks that require significant data bandwidth.
Unlike traditional electrical I/O systems that rely on copper traces and are limited to short distances of about one meter, Intel’s optical I/O chiplet can transmit data over much longer distances with greater efficiency and lower power consumption. While the current chiplet is still in the prototype stage, Intel is working with select customers to further develop and integrate it with next-generation systems-on-chips (SoCs) and systems-in-packages (SiPs).
Intel’s silicon photonics initiative, backed by over 25 years of research, aims to deliver high reliability and cost-effectiveness in optical interconnect solutions. The company’s hybrid laser-on-wafer technology and direct integration approach set it apart from competitors. Intel has already shipped millions of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with integrated lasers, which have been used in pluggable transceiver modules in large data centers for various applications. Next-generation PICs supporting higher data rates are currently in development.
Overall, Intel’s OCI chiplet represents a significant advancement in optical interconnect technology, offering improved performance, efficiency, and range for connecting CPUs and GPUs in next-generation data centers and AI/HPC applications. Through collaboration with customers and continued research and development, Intel aims to revolutionize high-performance AI infrastructure with its optical interconnect solutions.
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