A Low Power Terabit Laser-Modulator Array, Phase I

Technical abstract:

Ultra scale computing for large-Scale Numerical Simulation requires a new technology for optical communication. VCSELs run out of bandwidth at 56 Gb/s PAM4, and the latency of PAM4 is incompatible with super-computing. Other available technologies are excessively expensive, have high power consumption, are far from proven or they require temperature control. The proposed concept integrates an Electro-Absorption Modulator (EAM) with a Surface-Emitting (SE) laser capable of > 100 Gb/channel NRZ which can be arrayed to > 1 Tb/s for a 10 element array. Using NRZ instead of a more complex format reduces latency dramatically. The proposed device can operate over a wide temperature range, at least 25 C to 125 C and potentially over the full military range without temperature control. The EAM SE laser has a 30% reduction in power per bit compared to VCSEL solutions, and the transmission distance is dramatically improved. The proposed low cost device  can be manufactured by the billions. The EAM SE laser array can be flip-chip mounted  onto silicon.. This unique device has ten times the  reach of VCSELs, more than sufficient for any data center or super computer. The EAM SE laser is made from elements which are already proven and understood, but put together in a manner which achieves the performance ultra-scale computing needs.