IBM and Agilent Technologies were selected for a multi-year, $30 million project with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop optical interconnects for use within servers. The companies noted that the total communications bandwidth inside servers has been increasing by roughly 10 times every four years due to increasing chip speeds and the number of processors per system. By 2010, this would require a bandwidth of about 40 terabits per second (Tbps) between microprocessors. The objective of the DARPA-sponsored project is to develop optical-interconnect technology that delivers this bandwidth in time to meet this need while simultaneously addressing power, cost, density, and reliability issues. Key goals of IBM and Agilent’s program include:
- aggregate data rates up to 1 Tbps per module;
- high per-channel rates for optimal cost and power consumption — up to 15 Gbps for parallel links, and up to 40 Gbps for components;
- small form factor modules less than two square centimeters in area;
- ultra low power (5 to 10 milliwatts/Gbps); and
- high levels of integration to allow tight coupling with computer chips for optical transceivers and waveguide interconnects.
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