Conventional fabs can make optical chips

ajaidev · 11-26-2009, 06:35 AM

"Two MIT professors have designed optical chips that can be built using ordinary chip-manufacturing processes.Using the same manufacturing facilities as Texas Instruments, the MIT researchers have put large numbers of working optical components and electronics on the same chip...."

http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-feat...-optical-chips

Great waiting for optical opteron then. The optical chips tech do offer a lot lower heat, higher speed, etc.

N19h7m4r3 · 11-26-2009, 06:40 AM

It looks like there's some holes in the design, physically from that picture

It is good news though.

zalbard · 11-26-2009, 06:54 AM

I think these will be expensive, sadly.
But we will definitely use such technology IMO. Just not really soon...

Mechromancer · 11-26-2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

I think these will be expensive, sadly.
But we will definitely use such technology IMO. Just not really soon...

Why do you say that? Usually the manufacturing cost and ease of manufacture are the biggest barriers to market. Intel has built a decent optical infrastructure that they claim will be out well within the next 10 years too. I don't see optical interconnects inside systems taking any longer than that. Costs won't be too much more than what they are now thanks to IBM, Intel, TI and a few other companies pioneering this technology.

The future is now!

zalbard · 11-26-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mechromancer

Why do you say that? Usually the manufacturing cost and ease of manufacture are the biggest barriers to market. Intel has built a decent optical infrastructure that they claim will be out well within the next 10 years too. I don't see optical interconnects inside systems taking any longer than that. Costs won't be too much more than what they are now thanks to IBM, Intel, TI and a few other companies pioneering this technology.

The future is now!

Not any time soon is not within 5 years or so.

But yeah, I agree, we may very well see those within the next 10 years.
They are only prototypes for now.
It all depends on whether they can interest huge chip manufacturers like Intel in switching ASAP.

gumballguy · 11-26-2009, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N19h7m4r3

It looks like there's some holes in the design, physically from that picture

It is good news though.

Theyre light holes. Theyre used to transmit data from one side of the chip to the other.

Just in case youre half asleep, turn your sarcasm detector on