Lightmatter unveils Passage wafer-scale, programmable photonic interconnect fabric
Photonic computing startup Lightmatter has introduced a wafer-scale, programmable photonic interconnect fabric technology called Lightmatter Passage. The fabric is designed to enable arrays of heterogeneous chips to communicate optically. Use of the reconfigurable Passage fabric will reduce the cost and complexity of building heterogeneous computing systems, the company asserts -- and potentially provide an alternative to current co-packaged optics approaches.
Passage can support 40 switchable integrated photonic lanes in the same space that traditionally supports a single fiber, states Lightmatter. The fabric will enable 1 Tbps dynamically reconfigurable interconnect among 48 chips in an 8x8-inch configuration with a maximum latency of 5 nsec. The use of the fabric will lower power requirements and obviate the need for and expense of fiber-to-chip packaging, the company adds. The technology offers a roadmap toward 100 Tbps bandwidth, Lightmatter adds.
“Lightmatter is leading a necessary paradigm shift in computer architecture needed to power the next giant leaps in compute technology, while also reducing the negative impact on our planet of rapidly-growing state of the art, yet inefficient, compute and communications solutions,” said Nick Harris, co-founder and CEO at Lightmatter. “Modern compute workloads call for system-level performance. With Passage, we’ve created a photonic rack-on-chip solution capable of supporting the future of computing by enabling ultra-high bandwidth interconnection between different kinds of chips, and simultaneously reducing cost, complexity, and energy consumption.”
Lightmatter Passage is the company’s second announced product, following the unveiling last month of an optical processor device for artificial intelligence applications (see “Lightmatter touts optical processor chip for artificial intelligence applications”).
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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