IBM scientists have unveiled a “nanophotonic avalanche photodetector,” a significant step towards replacing electrical signals that communicate via copper wires between computer chips with silicon nanocircuits that communicate using pulses of light.

The device uses the “avalanche effect” in Germanium and is the world’s fastest device of its kind. It can receive optical information signals at 40Gbps (billion bits per second) and simultaneously multiply them tenfold.

By using light instead of electrical signals, enormous amounts of information can be sent between chips while using much less power.

“This invention brings the vision of on-chip optical interconnections much closer to reality,” said Dr. T.C. Chen, vice president, Science and Technology, IBM Research. “With optical communications embedded into the processor chips, the prospect of building power-efficient computer systems with performance at the Exaflop level might not be a very distant future.”

Further information: IBM news release