IBM has developed a scalable, silicon nano-photonics chip that can exceed next generation standard data transfers of 25 Gbits\/s. The revolutionary chip uses pulses of light for data transmission instead of using electrical signals.<\/p>\n
IBM’s new chip<\/strong> will allow chip-to-chip and computer-to-computer communications that are thousands of times faster than current state-of-the-art copper networks. High rate of data transfer is achieved by integrating electrical and optical components on the same chip and IBM has become the first company to ever do this.<\/p>\n The processors can process only electrical information, and the new chip act as a medium between processors by converting electrical information into optical information(light pulses) and vice versa. Data transfer rate is substantially increased using this technology.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re basically attacking a fundamental problem- communication in computing systems. For example, look at how search is done. When someone queries, it goes to a big data center. It doesn\u2019t just go to a single processor. You have to connect many racks and processors.\u201d Lead scientist Dr. Solomon Assefa told Forbes.<\/p>\n The key innovation is the fact that it is commercially viable and scalable. The chip can be fabricated using the same conventional fabrication process, meaning it\u2019s economically cheap to manufacture.\u00a0\u201cSo they will be cheap,\u201d said Assefa. \u201cEspecially if you compare them to what already exists, which requires more assembly of complex parts. We\u2019re bringing cost of optics down to silicon level.\u201d<\/p>\n