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IBM paving the optical way

IBM recently announced a breaktrough technology built around Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator. In their press release they state that the modulator is about 100 to 1000 times smaller in size than any other modulator previously demonstrated. It is capable of transmitting data at 100 times the throughput rate while consuming only about 10% of energy when compared to traditional circuit paths.

As we are hitting the speed barriers with what silicon transistors can provide, two technologies should become mainstream in CPU packages in next 10 years. One technology is based around carbon nanotubes and the other technology relies upon light signaling. This optical modulator allows electric singal conversion into light pulse. Light modulation has been used for a long time in high speed connections over fibre networks, what IBM did is to increase the speed while making it possible to cram hundreds of light signal paths on a single chip die.

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Over past few years we have seen rise in multi-core CPU chips with new Sun's chips that support 32 cores per CPU with 4 hyperthreads each. We have seen quad core Intel chips surface as well. One thing that did not change much is the core speed. It is because traditional dies are large and overall speed is limited by physical limitations (namely speed of light.) Multicore CPUs are here to stay.

With growing number of cores per chip, throughput and speed of communication between individual cores becomes a factor in overall performance. The promise of very high bandwidth mesh between each core raises hopes of building very large number smaller cores running at increasignly higher frequencies.

If you want to read more information from IBM press release, you can visit IBM Press Center.