1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,960
when you think of light traveling down some kind of narrow channel which I know

2
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:09,960
you do all the time you probably think of high-speed internet connections

3
00:00:07,839 --> 00:00:13,759
telephone lines or even those pre-lit Christmas trees but did you know that

4
00:00:11,759 --> 00:00:18,560
Optical connections are actually taking the place of traditional metal traces in

5
00:00:16,119 --> 00:00:22,960
actual computer chips this field is called silicon photonics and it's not

6
00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:27,240
some kind of gimmicky speculative technology products that use silicon

7
00:00:25,199 --> 00:00:30,880
photonics are already being deployed in data centers by the millions to help

8
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:35,079
keep up with how much pressure we're increasingly putting on cloud systems

9
00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:40,600
these days especially considering how rapidly AI is expanding the basic idea

10
00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:44,840
is to use photons instead of electrons to move data around the best part is

11
00:00:43,039 --> 00:00:49,920
that chip makers are manufacturing the means to do so directly onto silicon

12
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:55,039
Wafers meaning that you don't need costly exotic materials in order to pull

13
00:00:52,359 --> 00:00:59,640
this off silicon photonics uses wave guides that the light can move through

14
00:00:57,239 --> 00:01:05,040
as well as freaking laser beams as a light Source these hybrid silicon lasers

15
00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:09,439
are made from both silicon and other semiconductors such as indium and

16
00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:14,479
gallium compounds so they can be built directly onto the chip obviating the

17
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:18,640
need for extra laser equipment outside the chip which can be costly this

18
00:01:16,759 --> 00:01:23,520
technology has already been in use for a few years in transceivers that convert

19
00:01:21,159 --> 00:01:27,799
electrical signals to and from Optical ones you plug them into a server and use

20
00:01:25,759 --> 00:01:32,479
fiber optic cable to connect to another server elsewhere in a data center a to

21
00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:36,720
several kilometers away a piece of tech that's also proven useful for supporting

22
00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:41,159
current 5G networks but there's been a more recent development that might make

23
00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:44,200
those external transceivers Obsolete and we'll tell you about it right after we

24
00:01:42,479 --> 00:01:49,200
thank War Thunder for sponsoring this video War Thunder is a free-to-play

25
00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:54,000
vehicle combat game immersion and Detail in the vehicles is at the Forefront with

26
00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:57,560
this game with over 2,000 vehicles from throughout history and the present

27
00:01:55,520 --> 00:02:02,680
there's something for everyone to Pilot it's available on almost all platforms

28
00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:06,520
PC Mac PlayStation and Xbox so get hooked up with some premium bonuses

29
00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:10,599
today by clicking the link below instead of relying on a separate transceiver to

30
00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:15,440
handle the actual photonics part of the chain recent work has looked more at

31
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:21,560
integrating silicon photonics directly onto a chip package in 2022 Intel showed

32
00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:26,840
off a laser setup that used tiny micro rings to save enough space to fit the

33
00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:30,920
actual photonics next to the die with each ring producing different light

34
00:02:28,959 --> 00:02:34,920
wavelengths allowing more data to be transferred than if you just used a

35
00:02:32,599 --> 00:02:40,599
single wavelength Intel also revealed a chip they had been working on for DARPA

36
00:02:36,959 --> 00:02:42,879
in 2023 that used Optical chiplets these

37
00:02:40,599 --> 00:02:46,440
chiplets sit on the same package as the actual compute die and are responsible

38
00:02:44,879 --> 00:02:50,959
for doing the conversions between electrical and Optical so you'd be

39
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:54,760
connecting fiber optics directly to these chiplets again eliminating the

40
00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:59,440
need for external transceivers when this Tech hits the marketplace but beyond the

41
00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:04,519
cost advantages of moving photonics as close to the compute die as possible we

42
00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:09,519
might need silicon photonics more and more as the years go by as our bandwidth

43
00:03:07,319 --> 00:03:12,920
needs just continue to grow there's a good chance we'll start hitting the

44
00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:17,519
limits of what's possible with standard metal traces in terms of power or data

45
00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:22,159
Integrity the thinking is that it could be cheaper to use silicon photonics

46
00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:26,879
instead of trying to find ways to shove more and more data down a metal trace

47
00:03:25,239 --> 00:03:31,400
and that photonics could offer a superior error rate to traditional

48
00:03:28,959 --> 00:03:35,560
Electronics but silicon photonics isn't just about ensuring the cloud can

49
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:40,200
continue to deliver fine YouTube videos like this one to your screen because the

50
00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:45,040
general idea is put Optical technology into silicon it has other applications

51
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:48,920
such as liar for self-driving cars Healthcare Diagnostics that involve

52
00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:54,079
shooting light into tissues and even better sensors for AR and VR headsets

53
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:58,959
it's unclear if silicon photonics will have a big role to play in home PCS at

54
00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:02,360
some point but if you really want Optical Tech and your personal rig in

55
00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:07,480
the meantime you could always just put in a Blu-ray Drive they're not dead yet

56
00:04:05,319 --> 00:04:10,959
and thank you for popping by this episode of techwiki like the video if

57
00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:14,959
you like it and dislike it if you dislike it check out our other videos comment below with video suggestions and

58
00:04:13,599 --> 00:04:19,040
don't forget to subscribe and follow did you get all that okay