Photonic Integrated Circuit by Intel

The Intel Photonics Technology Lab announced to have developed a laser modulator that encodes optical data at 40 billion bits per second. Initially devoted to optimize components interconnection for "super computers" based on multicore CPU installed on several daughter cards, the system is claimed to be relatively cheap and could be quickly integrated in different devices. If some scientists argue that a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) could provide a cost-effective solution for optical communication and future optical interconnects in computing industry, one will need a key component: the high-speed silicon optical modulator, which is responsible to encode data on optical beam.
Photonics Technology Lab recently presented its silicon modulator which achieved data transmission at 40 Gbps speed

The high-speed silicon modulator could find use in various future applications. For example, a highly integrated silicon photonic circuit may provide a cost effective solution for the future optical interconnects within computers and other devices. With the demonstration of the 40 Gbps silicon modulator and the electrically pumped hybrid silicon laser, it will become possible to integrate multiple devices on a single chip (Fig. 3) that can transmit terabits of aggregate data per second in the near future – truly enabling tera-scale computing.