IBM researchers have made a breakthrough in the use of pulses of light to speed data transfer between chips, which they can increase the performance of supercomputers to over a thousand times. This new technology is called CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics, integrated modules and optical power on the same piece of silicon, allowing the electrical signals generated at the transistor level is converted into pulses of light, helping chip communication with faster speed, Mr. Will Green, research scientist silicon photonics at IBM said.

According to IBM, the technology could lead to major advances in the power of supercomputers. The fastest supercomputer today is about 2 peta flops-speed (2 trillion floating point operations per second). Photonics technology can boost the speed this up trillion floating point operations per second (exaflops), helping IBM achieve the goal of building a computer in 2020, Mr. Green said. Many modules photonics may be integrated into a single layer substrate or on a motherboard, Mr. Green said.

The new supercomputer, more than have used optical technology for the chip to communicate, but mostly on a single wavelength. IBM's breakthrough will enable optical communication at many wavelengths simultaneously, he said. This technology can be manufactured on standard chip production lines and do not need any special tools, making it cost-effective, according to IBM. The demonstration today use CMOS 130nm node production, but IBM will pursue "the process of under 100nm CMOS," Mr. Green said. This technology aims to replace the copper wires are widely used today to transmit data between chips. Optics can be faster for the distance from several centimeters to several kilometers, and consume less power.