Intel Light Peak to Enable High-Speed Universal Optical Interconnection

From X-bit Labs: All modern interconnection technologies, whether it is DisplayPort, USB 3.0 or FireWire, utilize copper wires, which have relatively limited peak bandwidth. In order to solve the bandwidth and wire problems in the long term, Intel Corp. is working on Light Peak optical interconnection technology, the company revealed at Intel Developer Forum 2009.

Intel claims that once relegated only to datacenter and telecom environments with high price points, optical technology may soon find its way into mainstream client systems, consumer electronics, and even handhelds.

Light Peak provides initial data rates of 10Gb/s and potential scalability to 100Gb/s and beyond, something copper input/output (IO) will not be able to achieve. Light Peak also supports multiple simultaneous protocols which will allow bandwidth aggregation of the various interconnects used in systems today onto a single high speed, thin, flexible, and long cable and small connector. Potentially, Light Peak can connect camera, display, docking station, or external hard drive through a single and thin connector.

Light Peak makes this possible by moving the next IO speed increase to optical and getting away from the electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and thickening and shortening of cables that are plaguing copper IO technologies today, Intel said. Unlike the current high cost optical technologies in the datacenter, Light Peak will bring the benefits of optical in a mainstream client-ready cost footprint.

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