Co-Packaged Optics Reaches Power Efficiency Tipping Point

By Laura Peters - 02 Jun, 2025 - Comments: 0

Commercialization has started for network switches based on co-packaged optics (CPO), which are capable of routing signals at terabits per second speeds, but manufacturing challenges remain regarding fiber-to-photonic IC alignment, thermal mitigation, and optical testing strategies. By moving the optical-to-electronic data conversion as close as possible to the GPU/ASIC switch in data center... » read more

Optimizing Data Movement

By Ann Mutschler - 29 May, 2025 - Comments: 1

Demand for new and better AI models is creating an insatiable demand for more processing power and much better data throughput, but it's also creating a slew of new challenges for which there are not always good solutions. The key here is figuring out where bottlenecks might crop up in complex chips and advanced packages. This involves a clear understanding of how much bandwidth is required ... » read more

Future-proofing AI Models

By Ann Mutschler - 21 May, 2025 - Comments: 0

Experts At The Table: Making sure AI accelerators can be updated for future requirements is becoming essential due to the rapid introduction of new models. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the challenges of future-proofing these designs with Marc Meunier, director of ecosystem development at Arm; Jason Lawley, director of product marketing for AI IP at Cadence; Paul Karazuba, vic... » read more

More Data, More Redundant Interconnects

By Ed Sperling - 19 May, 2025 - Comments: 0

The proliferation of AI dramatically increases the amount of data that needs to be processed, stored, and moved, accelerating the aging of signal paths through which that data travels and forcing chipmakers to build more redundancy into the interconnects. In the past, nearly all redundant data paths were contained within a planar chip using a relatively thick silicon substrate. But as chipma... » read more

AI Accelerators Moving Out From Data Centers

By Ann Mutschler - 15 May, 2025 - Comments: 0

Experts At The Table: The explosion in AI data is driving chipmakers to look beyond a single planar SoC. Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the need for more computing and the expanding role of chiplets with Marc Meunier, director of ecosystem development at Arm; Jason Lawley, director of product marketing for AI IP at Cadence; Paul Karazuba, vice president of marketing at Expedera; ... » read more

Photonics Speeds Up Data Center AI

By Geoff Tate - 01 May, 2025 - Comments: 0

Photonics is playing an increasingly vital role in the acceleration of AI within data centers. The global market for optical components is already substantial, accounting for $17 billion in revenue last year. Historically, telecommunications — such as undersea cables and fiber-to-the-home — dominated demand. However, the datacom sector, especially AI-driven data centers, now accounts for... » read more

Research Bits: April 22

By Jesse Allen - 22 Apr, 2025 - Comments: 0

PIC heterogeneous integration Researchers from Hewlett Packard Labs, Indian Institutes of Technology Madras, Microsoft Research, and University of Michigan built an AI acceleration platform based on heterogeneously integrated photonic ICs. The PIC combines silicon photonics along with III-V compound semiconductors that functionally integrate lasers and optical amplifiers to reduce optical l... » read more

Photonic-SRAM Bitcell for High-Speed On-Chip Photonic Memory and Compute Systems (UW, USC, GF)

By Technical Paper Link - 04 Apr, 2025 - Comments: 0

A new technical paper titled "Design of Energy-Efficient Cross-coupled Differential Photonic-SRAM (pSRAM) Bitcell for High-Speed On-Chip Photonic Memory and Compute Systems" was published by researchers at University of Wisconsin–Madison, USC and GlobalFoundries. Abstract "In this work, we propose a novel differential photonic static random access memory (pSRAM) bitcell design using fabri... » read more

Research Bits: Apr. 1

By Jesse Allen - 01 Apr, 2025 - Comments: 0

Neuro-synaptic RAM Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) found that a standard silicon transistor can function like a biological neuron and synapse when arranged and operated in a specific way. The team was able to replicate both neural firing and synaptic weight changes by adjusting the resistance of the b... » read more

High-Speed High-Capacity Mixed-Signal Simulation Of Silicon Photonics

By Paul Graykowski - 27 Mar, 2025 - Comments: 0

Many of today’s computing and communications applications demand almost unimaginable processing capability and high-bandwidth access to memory. For example, many data center systems using high-end Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) often need to transfer multiple terabytes per second. Traditional copper-based interconnects, limited to speeds of hundreds of megabits per second (Mbps), cannot ... » read more

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tag: photonics

Co-Packaged Optics Reaches Power Efficiency Tipping Point

Optimizing Data Movement

Future-proofing AI Models

More Data, More Redundant Interconnects

AI Accelerators Moving Out From Data Centers

Photonics Speeds Up Data Center AI

Research Bits: April 22

Photonic-SRAM Bitcell for High-Speed On-Chip Photonic Memory and Compute Systems (UW, USC, GF)

Research Bits: Apr. 1

High-Speed High-Capacity Mixed-Signal Simulation Of Silicon Photonics

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