The third trend is another new wave of technology coming to improve the efficiency of data centers. This innovation at its core centers around photonic chips and their replacements to increase reliability. Today, photonic chips represent only 10 percent of a data center’s compute cost. This leads to questions of whether they are sustainable over the long term and economically feasible. Engineers have been working on alternative solutions since the chips are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. Their infamous lack of reliability has spurred the search for better options.
Two firms, Point2 and AttoTude, are leading the charge on this implementation. Combined, their technologies are expected to lower power consumption and costs by orders of magnitude while cutting latency in data transmission. As the world’s demand for data continues to grow and requires faster and more efficient processing, these innovations provide a unique opportunity to reinvent data center operations.
Challenges of Photonic Chips
Photonic chips are particularly good at transmitting huge amounts of data over great distances. They rely on optical fibers which allow them to carry information over hundreds or even thousands of meters without breaking a sweat. They come with significant challenges. One of the most critical challenges is realizing micrometer-precision, volume – manufacturability. This level of precision is crucial to allowing light to be directed in and out of the chips. This degree of precision is an absolute necessity when placing optical fibers onto waveguides on photonic chips.
The technology’s sensitivity to temperature makes that challenge even greater. Fluctuations in temperature introduce performance variability, undermining the reliability that data centers need. Additionally, photonic chips are known to have a deeply researched “copper cliff” issue, as they tend to fail to scale upon hitting certain physical constraints.
“Customers love fiber. But what they hate is the photonics,” – Dave Welch
Operators of mission-critical data centers are looking for alternatives that provide higher availability and performance.
Innovations from Point2 and AttoTude
Point2’s cutting-edge technology is a true game-changer in this fast-paced environment. It uses a third of the energy needed by traditional photonic chips and is one-third the cost. That, paired with its powerful performance, makes it an appealing choice for organizations that want to reduce costs without losing speed. Point2’s technology provides latency that is one-millionth of current photonic chips. This literally makes it the fastest solution when it comes to processing data in real-time.
AttoTude, which grew out of David Welch’s extensive investigations into photonics, complements Point2’s advancements with its own innovative approach. This combination of technologies would go a long way toward overcoming the current photonic technology advantage in the transceiver-processor package. This collaboration between the two companies makes them leaders in building the best next-generation solutions for data centers.
“Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics,” – Dave Welch
Industry Impact and Future Directions
From the coast-to-coast deployments in networking and AI by Nvidia, Broadcom, and more — the industry’s shakeup continues to prove the shift toward optics meeting electronics. These companies have all announced optical transceivers as part of the same package as processors. They go beyond optics by improving performance through integrating the electronics and optics by as little as a few micrometers. This mode of implementation addresses issues associated with conventional photonic technologies.
As the industry continues to face unprecedented growth in data, hybrid solutions that combine electronic and optical solutions are quickly becoming popular. These recent developments from Point2 and AttoTude represent a crucial point in the trajectory of data center technologies. These solutions are aimed at addressing the shortcomings of photonic chips. They would result in stronger, healthier communities and a more effective, fiscally responsible federal government.
“If I didn’t have to be at an optical wavelength, where should I be?” – Dave Welch
David Welch’s perspective helps remind us of the path still being traveled in the discipline’s evolution. He says that discovering new ideal wavelengths for improvements in efficiency would open up many more avenues in data processing technology innovations.
