IBM scientists have built the world’s tiniest nanophotonic switch which is claimed as a next generation high-performance multi-core computer chip that can transmit information internally using pulses of light traveling through silicon instead of electrical signals on copper wires. It is a silicon broadband optical switch, a key component required to enable on-chip optical interconnects. Once the electrical signals have been converted into pulses of light, this switching device performs the key role of “directing traffic” within the network, ensuring that optical messages from one processor core can efficiently get to any of the other cores on the chip.
It is ideally suited to on-chip applications and is extremely compact. As many as 2000 units would fit side-by-side in an area of one square millimeter, easily meeting integration requirements for future multi-core processors. The device is able to route a huge amount of data since many different wavelengths or “colors” of light can be switched simultaneously. It is envisioned that using light instead of wires, as much as 100 times more information can be sent between cores, while using 10 times less power and consequently generating less heat.