SBIR Phase I: Laser Sources for Scalable Optical Connectivity

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的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。该项目将产生一种可以产生多种波长的激光。这些不同波长的光可以各自编码不同的数据，并且可以发送到不同的目的地。这使得单激光器可以同时连接多个网络节点。该技术带来的连接性增强可以在HPC和云网络中实现显著的性能加速。高性能计算性能的加速将提高基础科学发现的速度，因为高性能计算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。设想的产品将是一种半导体激光器，可发射多种波长，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高性能计算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。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将加强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互连设计，能够满足终端应用指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，包括材料科学、半导体激光物理以及器件工程，以评估创造具有足够性能的激光产品的可行性。这种性能包括每个波长所需的低信噪比，以实现无差错通信。具体来说，目标是制造一种能够发射32个可用波长的激光器，每个波长的输出功率至少为1兆瓦，并且具有竞争力的相对强度噪声水平。这项SBIR第一阶段的研究将是一个评估设计空间和评估这种激光器用于商业用途的可行性的机会，同时有助于对相关技术的基本理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.