September 18, 2006
Intel, UCSB Announce Laser Chip
Kevin Carlson
Intel and the University of California Santa Barbara have announced a breakthrough in photonics: laser-emitting circuitry made from relatively standard silicon lithographic processes.
Intel and the University of California Santa Barbara have announced a demonstration of what they're calling the "first electrically pumped hybrid silicon laser." Working with the light-emitting substance indium phosphide, they have developed a way to bond the material to a silicon waveguide with a "glass-glue" layer only 25 atoms thick.
The technology could pave the way for low-cost, high-bandwidth optical interprocessor communications—one of the big obstacles that has stood in the way of photonics. By creating terabit optical data connections between processors, this technology could enable a big jump in the speed of desktop computers, servers, and data networks.
According to Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's Photonics Technology Lab, the technology is still several years away from commercial applications. Eventually, however, Intel believes that silicon hybrid lasers could become nearly ubiquitous. "We believe dozens, maybe even hundreds of hybrid silicon lasers could be integrated with other silicon photonic components onto a single silicon chip," says Paniccia.
For more information on the technology, see Intel's Hybrid Silicon Laser page.
