Intel demos 40-Gbit/s Si laser

摘要

Researchers from Intel Corp. and academia recently demonstrated what they say is the first mode-locked silicon evanescent laser. The experimental device, which can perform optical functions on CMOS chips, dispenses with the need to translate signals from optical to electrical and back again, as is standard procedure today for lasers used in telecom applications.The silicon laser emitted 40 billion pulses of light per second (40 Gbits/s) and was built on a hybrid silicon/indium phosphide platform developed last year. The joint effort between Intel in Jerusalem and the University of California at Santa Barbara produced a silicon laser that delivered highly stable ultrashort pulses of laser light. Such pulses ean be used in a variety of ways, such as for high-speed data transmissions at multiple wavelengths, for remote sensing using lidar (light detection and ranging), for processor-to-processor optical communications on multicore chips or for highly accurate optical clocks.