As hyperscale datacenters grow in number and size, reliable high-speed wired connectivity becomes critical as large numbers of servers, switches and storage devices need to be interconnected in a cost-efficient manner.

In addition, up to 75 percent of all data center internet traffic happens within datacenters, putting significant pressure on networking and interface bandwidth requirements.

Increasingly, hyperscale datacenter operators have been designing their own silicon for processing and connectivity functionality to take advantage of economies of scale, attain a greater internal control over technology and increase service differentiation.

LightBundle™ technology will offer a new level of efficiency in data transfer.

As Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) Models are getting ever more complex, they need ever larger High-Performance Computer (HPC) networks to perform the high intensity calculations in suitable time periods.

A big topic is the efficient information exchange between processors and memory as both components are needed in AI calculations, in particular for large training models.

Here the highly efficient LightBundle™ interconnects promise significant improvement in information exchange.

In 5G networks radio heads are getting ever more complex and consist of several different antennas all located in close proximity to each other.  This requires a tight network of interconnects which is achieved mostly with electrical connections today.

The challenge that any electrical connection in a radio head also acts as a potential antenna.  There have been attempts at using other optical connections in the past, but laser efficiency starts to degrade at higher temperature, and past about 85°C laser failures increase significantly.  LEDs can operate well beyond 100°C without major impact on efficiency or reliability.

Ever more sensors and devices are now connected to the internet.  This is also known as the Internet of Things (IoT). 

E.g., modern camera sensors in smartphones are generating large amounts of data that need to be transported from the sensor to the processor in an efficient and non-intrusive fashion.  Again, any electrical connection in a smartphone can act as an antenna or interfere with the rest of the circuitry.  LED based interconnects do not suffer from this limitation, and they can tolerate the high temperature environment that some sensors operate in.

Modern cars have a growing number of cameras and other sensors to support various safety devices and autonomous driving in the future.  Some of these connections are starting to require fairly high bandwidth.

LED based links are ideally suited for automotive applications because the fiber optic connections are lighter than copper connections and LEDs can withstand the high temperatures typical in the automotive environment whereas lasers cannot.