Contemporary silicon photonics modulators are constrained by the diffraction limit of light, restricting their ability to scale efficiently to the bandwidths AI infrastructure will require. Plasmonics offers a path forward.
By compressing light below the diffraction limit at a metal-dielectric interface, plasmonic modulators can operate at speeds exceeding 1 THz, more than 10x faster than conventional photonic modulators, while measuring approximately 10 microns in length, 300x to 500x shorter. The result is exponentially higher bandwidth density within the same silicon photonics platform, without requiring a shift to new material systems.
Marvell Senior Director Claudia Hoessbacher and Director Wolfgang Heni of Optical Engineering detail the technology, its applications across scale-up and scale-across networks, and where development stands today.
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