Intel Laser Chip

Intel and the University of California Santa Barbara are currently researching silicon chips with lasers. These chips have the potential to speed up computers, and are being referred to as silicon photonics. This means that the chip will be able to use lights in order to transmit data. "Intel is actively continuing its research work in silicon photonics, in the hope of building smaller, faster, and less expensive optical components that fulfill the goal of universal, ubiquitous, low cost, high-volume optical communications."(intel.com) If Intel is able to successfully create this new silicon chip it could change the way computers are manufactured in the future.

Intel's goal is to replace the current process that is used to pass on data through processors. Currently this is done through electrical interconnects by using copper wiring. Replacing this system with silicon photonics will take a lot more research and effort, but eventually it could replace the copper wiring with a much better performance. Silicon is an ideal material to use for many reasons. Silicon is inexpensive, abundant, and well understood which makes it easy to work with and develop new products with. However, developing a practical and inexpensive laser that can transmit the data has been difficult. The laser that Intel is currently working with is called a hybrid laser. This is because it combines both silicone and Indium Phosphide. Indium Phosphide is able to give off light in a way that will work with the silicones ability to guide the light. Being able to remove the wires from computers and replace them with laser beams is an enormous advancement in the world of technology. In order to combine the silicon and Indium

Phosphide, a procedure has been developed to fuse the two together as if glue were being used. "The researchers have employed a unique manufacturing process which create a kind of glass glue to fuse the two materials together, this glass glue is a mere 25 atoms thick." (internetnews.com) This product is being researched in depth and will continue to improve over the years to come.

Before Intel can successfully mass produce this product there are still several glitches that must be taken into account. The largest problem is coming up with a way to manufacture optical components at a low cost, because they are currently expensive. It will also be difficult to mass produce this chip because in order to assemble