Researchers Map 3-Step Optical Interconnect Roadmap for AI and HPC
Updated
Updated · Nature.com · Aug 19
Researchers Map 3-Step Optical Interconnect Roadmap for AI and HPC
1 articles · Updated · Nature.com · Aug 19
Summary
A new Nature Electronics review lays out a roadmap for optical chip-to-chip interconnects, moving from 2D co-packaged optics to 2.5D interposer integration and 3D heterogeneous stacking.
The push comes as electrical links are hitting limits from resistive losses, capacitive loading and frequency-dependent distortion, which increasingly squeeze bandwidth, latency and energy efficiency in AI and high-performance computing.
The paper says system performance will hinge on three domains: electrical subsystems, electro-optical and opto-electronic conversion interfaces, and optical transmission networks.
Key barriers remain thermal management, manufacturability and standardization, which the authors say must be solved before optical compute interconnects can become foundational infrastructure for large-scale AI and HPC systems.