Point2 Technology, a company founded by industry veterans from Marvell, Nvidia, and Samsung, has announced a groundbreaking development in data transmission technology. Point2 Technology partnered with engineers and programmers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Together, they brought to life an ingenious cable system dubbed the e-Tube. This innovation is expected to more than double space and energy efficiency while improving data center performance.
The e-Tube system integrates the very latest engineering techniques with precision 28-nanometer CMOS technology. This veteran process that has existed since 2010 has yet to undergo similar innovative breakthroughs until now. Of particular interest, the system has a strong digital component that interfaces natively with graphics processing units (GPUs). Beyond the camera, it incorporates a terahertz-frequency generator and a mixer, which encodes data onto terahertz signals. This unmatched combination promises to change the game in the way data is shared over short distances in data centers.
Innovations in Cable Design
Point2 Technology’s e-Tube cable is built to be thinner than and more capable than typical cables. Each cable is made up of a single silicon photonic chip that translates incoming digital information into modulated millimeter-wave frequencies. An associated antenna then radiates the signal into a waveguide, allowing for super-efficient data transmission.
The e-Tube cable has a very beautiful footprint. It takes up just one-third the footprint of a 32-gauge copper wire and reaches up to 20 times greater distances! Point2’s innovative line-of-sight tech is best suited for longer range data transmission, at distances up to 20m. This unique capability ensures that it’s ideally suited for crowded data center deployments.
To this end, Point2 Technology has plans to bring manufacturing of chips in-house. Those chips will power a future 1.6-terabit-per-second cable composed of eight thin polymer waveguides. And each waveguide can transmit an impressive 448 gigabits per second. It works on two frequencies (90 gigahertz and 225 gigahertz), far expanding the possibilities for high-speed data transfer.
Competitive Advantages Over Optical Technologies
Point2 Technology introduces its e-Tube cables as a more attractive and disruptive alternative to traditional optical technologies. These cables are poised to change the definition of high-speed data transmission. David Kuo, the vice president of product marketing and business development at Point2 Technology, highlights the substantial benefits of the new system. It is what makes it truly unique in the market! “Our technology consumes one-third of optical’s power, costs one-third as much, and offers as little as one-thousandth the latency,” Kuo explained.
More fundamentally, as Welch points out, electronic systems are inherently more reliable than optical systems. “Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics,” he stated, highlighting a critical factor that could influence data center operators’ decisions.
Financial Backing and Future Prospects
Point2 Technology has already raised an impressive $55 million in venture funding. This major milestone has been supported by significant investments by key stakeholders in the computer cables and connections market, including Molex. This financial support will fund additional research and development intended to help them hone their disruptive e-Tube technology.
The company’s goal is clear: “to bring radio to the data center.” Point2 Technology is all about communicating information via radio waves. This plan is part of a broader strategy to increase data center capacities and address major challenges found in conventional optical systems.
Point2 Technology’s e-Tube cables are likely to send ripples through the industry. Point2 fuses together unique design aspects with tried-and-true technology. Using this methodology, the company is positioned to establish new benchmarks for speed and efficiency in data centers.