Luxtera, Sun Microsystems Collaborate on Optical Interconnects

Luxtera will join forces with Sun Microsystems to develop the next generation of optical interconnects.

Under the DARPA Ultraperformance Nanophotonic Intrachip Communications (UNIC) program, the interconnects will produce new chip-to-chip and intrachip interconnect technology, which could lead to enhanced high-performance computer systems.

Luxtera will supply strategic direction, baseline optoelectronic circuits, silicon fabrication processes, tools and device design support for Sun Microsystems to produce low-power optical transmitters and receivers.

Luxtera’s existing silicon CMOS photonics optical I/O technology will assist in the project as well, as it is already providing a more efficient way to construct optical transceivers that increase efficiency and reliability.

“We enable fabrication of optical and electronic circuits on a common mainstream CMOS chip,” said Luxtera CEO Greg Young. “This capability is the key enabler of next-generation, optically interconnected multicore processors and computing systems.”

For more information, visit: www.luxtera.com