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A new era in integrated photonics begins at OpSIS

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Intel’s Mario Paniccia has an amazing list of tasks that could be done via a fingernail-size chip loaded with optical integrated circuits: download the contents of the U.S. Library of Congress in 1.5 minutes, or an entire movie or 150 albums worth of music in a second; or run complex medical imaging from a handheld device, to name just a few items.
 
An important new piece in creating the solutions for making all that happen in a cost-effective way got a big push forward yesterday in Seattle, at the kick-off event for the new OpSIS lab at the University of Washington.

Michael Hochberg (University of Washington), Director of OpSIS
  
Michael Hochberg, Director of OpSIS (Optoelectronic Systems Integration in Silicon) was joined by high-level friends and partners as well as UW staff, faculty, and students in launching the new lab, a multi-project wafer shuttle service for silicon photonics.
 
CalTech's Carver Mead -- who coined Moore's Law and is a co-inventor of VLSI circuits -- was there, as was Justin Rattner, Chief Technology Officer of Intel.
Justin Rattner (Intel): "Together we usher in a new era ..." at OpSIS
   
Intel has provided financial backing for OpSIS, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research has funded research by Hochberg. BAE Systems will be involved in fabricating the initial chip run. In keeping with the vision of serving the entire silicon photonics community, OpSIS is inviting other partners as well.
 
Expectations for the lab are high -- nothing short of transformational. As Rattner, noted, the high-volume opportunities for optical technology that will drive the cost down are rich. “Together," he said, "we usher in a new age of optical integrated circuits.”
 
Follow the links below to read what the press have had to say about OpSIS -- and get ready for a new era!

At the OpSIS reception, from left, Mario Paniccia (Intel), Carver Mead (CalTech), Eugene Arthurs (SPIE)

TechEye, 2 February 2011
Intel funds silicon photonics foundry service

Wall Street Journal: Digits blog, 1 February 2011
Researchers hope sharing costs will spur optical chips

Puget Sound Business Journal: TechFlash blog, 1 February 2011
Q&A: Why the UW and Intel are betting on silicon photonic chips

Xconomy, 1 February 2011
UW, backed by Intel and U.S. Military, sets up center to merge electronics, photonics

Seattle Times: Brier Dudley's blog, 31 January 2011
UW starting silicon photonics foundry service

EE Times: EE Life blog, 31 January 2011
Chips with integrated optical interconnects coming…eventually
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Comments

  1. CaptKathy03 February, 2011 10:36

    Coordinating the design specs and production, and sharing the costs in this new foundry service for silicon photonics, is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete

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