SBIR Phase I: Ultra-high throughput parallel optical links for chip-to-chip interconnects.

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是展示一个平台，用于提高计算能力和降低应用程序的功耗，例如：数据中心搜索，机器学习，手机和个人电子产品。 通过解决短尺度数据互连的关键瓶颈，该项目将使新的计算架构能够学习，检索信息，并解决传统计算无法解决的问题。 影响范围将从芯片公司到电子封装，再到系统公司，最终影响到计算服务的用户，从企业到个人。 解决这一互连瓶颈将实现更强大的个人计算，从而降低功耗，创建更高效的数据中心，并加速新机器学习架构的广泛采用。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决了在计算平台内和计算平台之间移动数据的关键问题。 随着数据链路长度的增加，功耗和密度下降。 通常，电线用于小于一米的长度尺度，而光学器件用于超过几米的高速信号。 该项目将实现一种基于氮化镓器件的新光源，通常用于照明和显示应用。 通过这种方法，光信号可以在更短的距离内使用，从而提供更高的密度和更低的电力消耗。 该项目的目标是展示一种光链路，其功率比电线低10倍至100倍，密度是传统光链路的100倍。该奖项反映了NSF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/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate a platform for increasing computing power and decreasing power consumption in applications such as: datacenter search, machine learning, cell phones, and personal electronics. By addressing the key bottleneck of data interconnects at short length scales, this project will enable new computing architectures that can learn, retrieve information, and solve problems beyond the reach of conventional computing. The impact will range from chip companies to electronic packaging, to the system companies and ultimately to the users of computing services, from businesses to individuals. Addressing this interconnect bottleneck will realize more powerful personal computing that consumes less power, creates more efficient data centers, and accelerates widespread adoption of new machine learning architectures.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a key issue of moving data within and between computing platforms. As the length of a datalink increases, the power consumption and density drop. Generally electrical wires are used for length scales less than a meter, and optics are used for high speed signals over a few meters. This project will enable a new light source based on Gallium Nitride devices, typically used in lighting and display applications. Through this approach, optical signaling can be used at shorter distances, giving much higher density and lower electrical power consumptions. The goal of this project is to demonstrate an optical link with 10x to 100x lower power than electrical wiring and 100x the density of traditional optical links.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.