Intel shows off first fully integrated optical compute interconnect, designed to scale up AI workloads - SiliconANGLE

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses Intel's progress in developing integrated photonics technology for high-speed data transfers, including the company's announcement of the industry's first "fully integrated optical compute interconnect" (OCI) chiplet co-packaged with an Intel CPU. The article highlights the potential of silicon photonics to address the growing bandwidth demands of AI workloads in data centers.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Intel's Integrated Photonics Milestone

1. What is the key milestone that Intel has achieved in integrated photonics technology?

• Intel has developed the industry's first "fully integrated optical compute interconnect" (OCI) chiplet, which is co-packaged with an Intel-made central processing unit.
• This new chip represents a significant leap forward in high-bandwidth data interconnect performance, enabling faster data transfers over longer distances compared to traditional electronics.

2. How does Intel's OCI chiplet improve upon existing electrical I/O interconnects?

• Existing electrical I/O technologies can only support high-bandwidth densities over very short distances of 1 meter or less.
• Intel's OCI chiplet can support up to 64 channels of 32 GB/s data transmission in each direction over up to 100 meters of fiber optic cables, providing much longer reach and higher bandwidth.
• This allows for better scaling of CPU/GPU clusters used in AI applications, enabling more efficient communication between "houses" (compute nodes) in the "neighborhood" (data center).

3. What are the key benefits of Intel's OCI chiplet technology?

• Increased bandwidth: The OCI chiplet can support up to 64 channels of 32 GB/s data transmission in each direction.
• Longer reach: The technology can operate over up to 100 meters of fiber optic cables, much longer than the 1 meter limit of existing electrical I/O.
• Reduced power consumption: The OCI chiplet promises to reduce the energy levels required for high-bandwidth data transfers compared to pluggable optical transceiver modules.

[02] Importance of Silicon Photonics for AI Workloads

1. Why is the need for silicon photonics technology more urgent than ever?

• The demands of increasingly powerful AI models are putting immense strain on existing data center infrastructures, as these models require more and more data.
• Existing chip interconnects can barely keep up with the growing bandwidth requirements of these AI workloads.
• Silicon photonics is desperately needed to support the growth of AI and enable the scaling of CPU/GPU clusters used in AI applications.

2. How does Intel's OCI chiplet address the challenges of supporting AI workloads?

• The OCI chiplet can provide the high-bandwidth, long-reach data interconnect capabilities required to scale up clusters of CPUs and GPUs for AI applications.
• By enabling more efficient communication between compute nodes in the data center, the OCI chiplet promises to "revolutionize high-performance AI infrastructure."