Demystifying Electro-Photonic Integrated Circuits

Fiber optic interconnects have enjoyed a relatively long history in long haul telecommunications due to their ability to transmit large quantities of data across great distances. As our society’s insatiable demand for communications bandwidth grows, we have seen the emerging necessity of optical solutions for ever shorter links, and at a much larger scale. Whereas conventional optical systems were used predominantly for links spanning thousands of kilometers, today’s state-of-the-art data centers require them for most links greater than 5 meters in length. With no signs of the rapid increase for bandwidth diminishing, within a few years the need for optics will take its next big step beyond the enterprise world and into the mainstream consumer markets.