19-03-2012, 02:30 PM
Light Peak
[u]ABSTRACT
Light Peak is Intel's code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect electronic devices to each other in a peripheral bus. It has the capability to deliver high bandwidth, starting at 10 Gbit/s, with the potential ability to scale to 100 Gbit/s. It is intended as a single universal replacement for current buses such as SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire, and HDMI. In comparison to these buses, Light Peak is much faster, longer ranged, smaller, and more flexible in terms of protocol support.
Light Peak consists of a controller chip and an optical module that would be included in platforms supporting this technology. The optical module performs the conversion from electricity to light and vice versa, using miniature lasers and photo detectors. Intel is planning to supply the controller chip, and is working with other component manufacturers to deliver all the Light Peak components. We expect that the components will be ready to ship in 2011. Over time, the optical components, designed to be small, easy to manufacture and affordable, are expected to enjoy the economies of scale that other components have in the computing and consumer electronics industries.
[u]ABSTRACT
Light Peak is Intel's code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect electronic devices to each other in a peripheral bus. It has the capability to deliver high bandwidth, starting at 10 Gbit/s, with the potential ability to scale to 100 Gbit/s. It is intended as a single universal replacement for current buses such as SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire, and HDMI. In comparison to these buses, Light Peak is much faster, longer ranged, smaller, and more flexible in terms of protocol support.
Light Peak consists of a controller chip and an optical module that would be included in platforms supporting this technology. The optical module performs the conversion from electricity to light and vice versa, using miniature lasers and photo detectors. Intel is planning to supply the controller chip, and is working with other component manufacturers to deliver all the Light Peak components. We expect that the components will be ready to ship in 2011. Over time, the optical components, designed to be small, easy to manufacture and affordable, are expected to enjoy the economies of scale that other components have in the computing and consumer electronics industries.