Multi-Wavelength Optical Transceivers

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Program:
ENLITENED
Award:
$10,059,406
Location:
Yorktown Heights, New York
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
10/31/2017 - 03/29/2024

Technology Description:

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center will develop a two-pronged approach to improve future datacenter efficiency.. New optical interconnect solutions can provide a path to energy-efficient datacenters at higher bandwidth levels, but they must also meet key metrics including power density, cost, latency, reliability, and signal integrity. IBM's team will use their expertise with vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) to develop VCSEL-based optical interconnect technology capable of meeting the necessary future demands. VCSEL-based interconnects offer an appealing combination of low power consumption, small size, high performance, low cost, and manufacturability. The team will work to increase the operating speed of VCSELs, detectors, and the associated circuits, while also developing packaging solutions to install optical interconnects on the integrated circuit. This integration will allow the system to eliminate the traditional driver and receiver electronics of most board-mounted optical modules, greatly reducing the cost and energy use of data transfer. The team will eventually use single-ended signaling to drive and receive signals from the modules directly, increasing the bandwidth of the system chips by at least two times and improving power efficiencies across the datacenter.

Potential Impact:

If successful, developments from ENLITENED projects will result in an overall doubling in datacenter energy efficiency in the next decade through deployment of new photonic network topologies.

Security:

The United States is home to much of the world’s datacenter infrastructure. Photonic networks add resilience that can bolster the energy security of this critical driver of economic activity.

Environment:

Reducing the overall energy consumption of datacenters cuts energy-related emissions per bit of data transmitted and processed.

Economy:

Photonic networks can lower the costs associated with operating datacenters, improving American economic competitiveness in this fast-developing area.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Olga Spahn
Project Contact:
Dr. Daniel Kuchta
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
kuchta@us.ibm.com

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Release Date:
06/10/2016