Podcasts · The Hardware Podcast with Fexingo: Chips, Devices, and Electronics Engineering Conversations

On-Chip Silicon Photonics for Data Center Interconnects

17 Jul 2026 · 10 min · S3 E117

Lucas and Luna explore how silicon photonics is moving from lab curiosity to production inside data centers. They focus on a specific case: Intel's recent demonstration of an integrated photonic engine that replaces traditional copper cabling between server racks. The pair break down how this works at the chip level — modulators, waveguides, and photodetectors etched into standard CMOS silicon — and what the performance numbers actually mean: 800 gigabits per second over fiber, with power draw below 5 picojoules per bit. They discuss why this matters for AI clusters, where copper bottlenecks are already a headache. The conversation also touches on the economics: silicon photonics leverages existing fabs, potentially lowering cost per port compared to discrete optics. A concrete look at a technology that quietly changes how data moves.

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