Zeus

人工智能（AI）将通过实现自动驾驶汽车、真实的实时医疗诊断、金融建模、电网管理等来彻底改变现代生活。然而，开发未来AI系统所需的计算能力的增长将遇到计算能力的数据传输瓶颈。这种瓶颈是由电信号传输中的延迟引起的。一种解决方案是使用光而不是电来发送信号。光子芯片将带来更高的性能，因为光产生的热量比电少，而且至关重要的是传播速度更快。许多公司都在寻求开发这些芯片。为了创建这样的光子芯片，需要同时运行多个数据通道。每个通道需要约50 mW的光功率。目前最先进的激光器只能满足这一规格。这意味着每个通道必须有一个激光器，每个激光器都很大，功耗很大，集成也很有挑战性。Vector正在利用高度创新的光子晶体设计专业知识开发高端激光器，并看到了扩展这项工作以实现世界领先的光子芯片性能的机会。Vectors光子晶体技术能够提供更高光功率（高达1 W）的激光器，使单个激光器能够驱动多个通道，从而使系统的能耗显著降低，元件数量大大减少，系统架构更加简单，成本降低。一个系统，你有“多个通道每激光器”，而不是“多个激光器每通道”。该项目将开发一种能够在光子芯片上支持20个通道的1 W激光器--这是一个雄心勃勃的目标，如果实现，可能会彻底改变该领域。光子晶体表面发射激光器（PCSEL）是激光器功能的典范转变，打破了当前半导体激光器中存在的性能与成本权衡。与当前的解决方案相比，用于中心光互连的PCSEL更小、更便宜、更高效、更容易集成到系统中。矢量光子学将使系统集成商能够与使用传统技术的人区分开来，并更好地满足客户的需求。

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to revolutionise modern life, by enabling autonomous vehicles, real time medical diagnosis, financial modelling, power grid management, etc.However, the growth in the compute power necessary to develop future AI systems will run up against a data transmission bottle neck in compute power. This bottleneck is caused by delays in electrical signal transmission. One solution is to use light to send signals, rather than the electricity. Photonic chips will lead to higher performance because light produces less heat than electricity, and crucially travel faster. Many companies are looking to develop these chips.In order to create such a photonic chip, many channels of data are needed to be running simultaneously. And each channel needs ~50mW of optical power. The current cutting-edge lasers can only just meet this specification. Which means for each channel there must be a single laser, and each laser is large, power consuming, and integration is challenging. Vector is developing high end lasers using highly innovative photonic crystal design expertise and sees an opportunity to extend this work to enable world-leading photonic chip performance. Vectors photonic crystal technology is capable of delivering a laser with significantly higher optical power (up to 1W), enabling a single laser to drive multiple channels.This results in a system with significantly reduced energy consumption, a much lower component count, a much simpler system architecture and reduced cost. A system where you have "multiple channels per laser" rather than "multiple lasers per channel". This project will develop a 1W laser capable of supporting 20 channels on a photonics chip -- an ambitious objective which if achieved could revolutionise the field.The photonics crystal surface emitting laser (PCSEL) is a paradigm shift in laser functionality and breaks the performance vs cost trade-off present in current semiconductor lasers. PCSELs for datacentre optical interconnects are smaller, cheaper, more efficient and easier to integrate into systems than current solutions.Vector photonics will enable system integrators to differentiate themselves against people who use legacy technologies and better meet the needs of their customers.