Light Peak Technology Code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology N.M.Jophi MCA

Contents Introduction Key Benefits Working of Technology Clear Curve Controller Chips Transmit of data Diagrammatic Representation of Transmit of data Component Overview Demonstration of working of Intel Light Peak Technology Production History Conclusion Reference Votes of Gratitude

Introduction In this modern world lots of innovations are being made. We can find a lot of devices available for the computer. With the increase in technology the devices are getting smaller, thinner & lighter. And for each individual device there are connectors & cable. But the electrical I/O with these connectors & cable has practical limits such as limited speed and up to a limited distance. Therefore the need for faster data transfers between gadgets arises. So a new technology called Light Peak is under development by the Intel in collaboration with Apple to satisfy this wish which uses a single universal bus for all the devices.

Key Benefits It has the capability to deliver high bandwidth, starting at 10 Gigabit/s with the potential ability to scale to 100 Gigabit/s. It also allows balanced platform with external I/O devices. It is intended as a single universal replacement for current buses such as SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire, PCI Express and HDMI. The optical fiber used in Light Peak has a diameter of 125 microns, about the width of a human hair. This thin optical fiber will enable Light Peak to transfer data over very thin, flexible cables & optical cables and could be up to 100 meters long. The Light Peak optical module was designed to be lower cost than Telecom optical modules through clever design and volume manufacturing. Telecom optical modules may cost up to 30 times more than Light Peak.

Working of Technology It consists of controller chip & an optical module. The optical module converts electricity to light and vice versa using miniature lasers and photo detectors. Full Chip Laser Off

Clear Curve The optical fiber we are discussing is the Clear Curve. The old optical cables tend to leak light when bent tightly around corners in tight angles. The cable is typically in a form with mechanical armouring on the outside. This armouring makes it less useful when routed into homes as it has to bend in several places resulting in the signal being almost entirely lost. In July 2007, Corning Incorporated announced a new optical fiber known as Clear Curve that uses nanostructure reflectors to keep light trapped within the fiber even when bent around small-radius curves. Clear Curve can be pulled through the same sorts of conduits as the existing copper, but is physically smaller and carries much more bandwidth. Even the single-mode version, with a single carrier frequency, offers maximum data transfer rates.

Controller Chips The technology, known as silicon photonics, can be used as a replacement for copper wires to connect components within computers, or between computers in data centres’. Photonics uses lasers or light-emitting diodes to generate, modulate, switch and transmission of light.

Transmit of Data Full Chip Laser On Optical cables transmit data far faster than copper wire. But wire is still the primary medium for communication on computer chips, and between computers and devices through USB cables. But Light Peak uses four inexpensive fiber-optic wires, each of which can carry ten Gigabits/s of data per second. The system included the development of both the wires and the chips, which encode and decode information in light form on both ends. Light, by virtue of having no mass, can travel far faster than matter like electrons, making optical communication much quicker than the electrical communication that relies on the transfer of electrons. Full Chip Laser On

Diagrammatic Representation of Transmit of data

Demonstration of working of Intel Light Peak Technology (2) This monitor connected to a Light Peak communication apparatus showed a video signal coming from the remote PC This monitor connected to a Light Peak communication apparatus showed a video signal coming from the remote PC (1) This PC has the Light Peak controller & optical connector that sends signals down a single white 100 m long optical cable

Production History Designer – Intel Designed year – 2009 Type – Optical Connector Diameter – 125 microns Hot Pluggable – Yes Daisy Chain – Yes Data Transfer – Bi-directional Protocol – Multiple Cable – 100 m maximum

Conclusion The Intel’s Light Peak Technology will be able to satisfy the need of faster data transfer It has the capability to deliver high bandwidth starting at 10 Gigabit/s with the potential ability to scale to 100 Gigabit/s It is intended as a single universal replacement for current buses such as SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire, PCI Express and HDMI. It is expected that the components will be ready to ship in 2010.

Reference www.intel.com/go/lightpeak www.wired.com/gadgetlab/tag/intel www.news.cnet.com www.lightpeakinfo.com/IntelLightPeak.php www.trustedreviews.com/networking/news www.techreport.com/discussions.x/19350

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