Founded by former engineers from Marvell, Nvidia and Samsung, Point2 Technology is changing the way data centers increase their productivity. Their revolutionary radio frequency (RF) technology has made these big leaps possible. Point2 Technology was founded nine years ago. The company’s mission is to revolution data center operations through smart, high-performance cable technology that distributes faster data speeds with less loss.
The company’s creative cables incorporate eight e-Tube fibers. Each fiber can carry more than 200 gigabits of data per second! This extraordinary ability places Point2 Technology in the vanguard of the current digital transformation taking place in data management. Now with $55 million in venture funding, led primarily by Molex, the young company is ready to shake up the wiring industry and change how data gets transmitted altogether.
Advancements in Cable Technology
Point2 Technology’s e-Tube is a single silicon chip, which takes the incoming digital data, and translates it into modulated millimeter-wave frequencies. This novel structure provides a rapid and effective flow of information. It can travel up to 20 meters away before losing much potency. Dave Welch, an engineer at Point2 Technology, echoes this sentiment, explaining that this technology will quickly be able to surpass copper cables. Copper cables often have technical constraints on how far they can reach.
“If I didn’t have to be at [an optical wavelength], where should I be?” – Dave Welch
Later this year, Point2 Technology will begin chip production in a new R&D facility. This line of chips will help to power a new 1.6-terabit-per-second cable that uses eight polymer waveguides. Each waveguide has the capacity to transmit 448 gigabits per second using two frequencies: 90 gigahertz and 225 GHz. This ability with transmission data streams is considered a major breakthrough. It takes a giant step past the restrictions of old copper wiring.
Welch went on to explain how Point2 Technology’s fiber optic cables made them unique. Taha noted that they are achieving a much lower loss rate than current state-of-the-art technologies. The second-generation cable, called CavOptic™ Pro, aims for losses of 0.3 decibels per meter or lower. Meeting this arbitrary goal would have a huge positive impact on data center efficiency so it’s a worthwhile aspiration.
Bridging the Gap with RF Technology
Point2 Technology’s RF technology is designed to meet this need and provide a middle ground between the old copper way and new, all-optical approaches. It overcomes the shortcomings of copper cable — or what deep in the bowels of telecom industry insiders call the “copper cliff.” Don Barnetson highlights the reluctance of many data centers to transition away from copper, stating, “You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can.”
Data centers are becoming more cognizant of the savings and operational efficiencies they could reap with fiber optic solutions. As Welch points out, “Customers love fiber. But what they hate is the photonics.” This sentiment further highlights the need for new and better ways that make implementing these cutting-edge technologies into outdated infrastructures easier.
Point2 Technology’s innovations are pointing the way toward electronics delivering more reliability than optical-based systems. Welch asserts that “Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics,” emphasizing the potential of RF technology in providing robust solutions for modern data centers.
Future Applications and Collaborations
Point2 Technology’s next generation AECs allow interconnectivity at unprecedented speeds, first taking advantage of connecting individual, cutting edge GPUs. These connections will create a scale-out network that connects to generalized network switches. This is a capacity that would fuel US dominance in data-heavy fields like artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.
The engineers working at Point2 Technology joined forces with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. In order to supercharge their innovations, they took advantage of 28-nanometer CMOS technology. This collaborative effort is aimed at improving the overall performance of their cables. Most importantly, it will help them continue to prove their leadership position in the field.
Last April, Point2 Technology managed a phenomenal 4-meter transmission. This time, they accomplished this at an extremely record high rate of 970 GHz during the Optical Fiber Communications Conference. This monumental success proved what their technology was capable of, and more importantly its readiness for widespread practical application in real-world environments.