Pre-commercialization of new generation Atomic-layer-deposited Lasers for future green high-performance data centers

Introduction

The continuous growth of global data traffic pushes the data center technology boundaries and their energy consumption. Data centers already use more than 2% of the global electricity and are expected to consume 20% by 2025.

Hyperscale Data Centers

The new generation hyperscale data centers offer a more energy-efficient alternative to conventional data centers but are limited by the current technology restrictions. Silicon photonics has been deemed to solve current bottlenecks for building green hyperscale data centers.

Challenges in Technology

However, this technology is challenged by the complicated and expensive fabrication methods of the laser sources, which represent 40% of the entire silicon transceiver market.

Innovative Fabrication Method

Using a simple fabrication method invented in our ERC Advanced project, we have designed a waveguide light source that can be fabricated onto the silicon-integrated platform with:

• A single-step process
• A straightforward approach
• Low-cost production
• Low-temperature requirements
• A scalable process

This innovative method lowers the fabrication cost by approximately 10 times compared to the state-of-the-art light sources.

Technological Breakthrough

Such a technological breakthrough will push the implementation of silicon photonics in hyperscale data centers, allowing them to maintain a low energy footprint while meeting the ever-increasing bandwidth requirements of the growing big data societal challenge.

Project Goals

Our project aims to:

1. Further develop the novel technology
2. Demonstrate its effectiveness for data center applications
3. Create the first-of-its-kind low-cost and scalable fabrication technology for the silicon photonics market, compatible with the current systems used in the industry.

Business Development

Furthermore, we will:

• Prepare and validate the business concept with value chain players
• Strengthen our IPR strategy
• Prepare for commercialization to establish a start-up aiming at serving this significantly growing market (40% Compound Annual Growth Rate).