SBIR Phase I: Laser Sources for Scalable Optical Connectivity

这一小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响将为未来的云和高性能计算（HPC）网络带来颠覆性的架构转变。 该项目将产生一个可以产生多个波长的激光器。 这些多个波长可以各自具有编码在其上的不同数据，并且可以被发送到不同的目的地。 这使得单个激光器能够同时互连多个网络节点。 该技术带来的连接性增强可以显著提高HPC和云网络的性能。 加速HPC性能将提高基础科学发现的速度，因为HPC对于推进我们对许多复杂的大规模科学现象的基本理解至关重要。设想中的产品将是一种半导体激光器，它能发射多个波长，可用于连接网络中的多个节点。 拟议活动的商业影响将是提高HPC和数据中心网络的性能和成本。 潜在客户包括光收发器制造商以及微电子计算系统集成商。 这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将提高对新型半导体激光器和放大器组件工作原理的理解。 这种增强的理解将用于通知创新的光学互连设计，能够满足终端应用所规定的具有挑战性的性能要求。 该项目将进行系统的设计研究，涉及材料科学，半导体激光物理学以及设备工程，以评估创建具有足够性能的激光产品的可行性。 该性能包括无差错通信所需的每波长低信噪比。 具体来说，目标是制造一个可以发射32个可用波长的激光器，每个波长的输出功率至少为1 mW，并且具有竞争性的相对强度噪声水平。该SBIR第一阶段研究将是一个机会，以评估设计空间和评估这种激光器的商业用途的可行性，同时有助于相关技术的基本理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be enabling a disruptive architectural shift for future cloud and high performance computing (HPC) networks. The project will result in a single laser that can generate multiple wavelengths. These multiple wavelengths can each have different data encoded on them and can be sent to different destinations. This allows this single laser to interconnect multiple network nodes simultaneously. The increased connectivity resulting from this technology can unlock significant performance accelerations in HPC and cloud networks. Accelerated HPC performance will increase the rate of fundamental scientific discoveries because HPC is essential for advancing our basic understanding of many complex large-scale scientific phenomena. The envisioned product will be a semiconductor laser that emits multiple wavelengths that can be used to interconnect multiple nodes in a network. The commercial impacts of the proposed activity will be improved performance and cost of HPC and datacenter networks. Potential customers include manufacturers of optical transceivers as well as systems integrators of microelectronic computing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enhance understanding of novel semiconductor laser and amplifier component operating principles. This enhanced understanding will be used to inform innovative optical interconnect designs capable of meeting the challenging performance requirements specified by the end applications. The project will enable a systematic design study entailing material science, semiconductor laser physics, as well as device engineering in order to evaluate the feasibility of creating a laser product with sufficient performance. This performance includes low signal-to-noise ratio per wavelength as required for error-free communication. Specifically, the goal is to make a single laser that can emit 32 usable wavelengths, each with at least 1 mW of output power and with competitive relative intensity noise levels. This SBIR Phase I study will be an opportunity to evaluate the design space and assess the plausibility of such a laser for commercial use, while contributing to basic understanding of the relevant technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.