Optical Retimers for Hybrid Interconnect Latency Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hybrid interconnect systems face challenges in efficiently converting electrical signals to optical signals and vice versa along an end-to-end path, particularly when dealing with different data rates and protocols, leading to higher latency, power consumption, and costs.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of optical retimers that perform retiming operations between electrical and optical interconnects, minimizing changes to interconnect ports, and using optical retimers as chips that interface with interconnect ports to provide an end-to-end connection by manipulating bits at the physical layer, reducing latency and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If electrical signals are converted to optical signals and vice versa along an end-to-end path in hybrid interconnect systems, then data transmission capability is improved, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces optical retimers as intermediary devices that perform electrical-to-optical and optical-to-electrical signal conversions at intermediate points along the transmission path. This breaks down a single long conversion into multiple shorter conversions, reducing the total time signals spend in conversion states and thereby reducing overall latency while maintaining data transmission capability.
2Speed
If electrical signals are converted to optical signals and vice versa along an end-to-end path in hybrid interconnect systems, then data transmission capability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Optical retimers serve as intermediary devices that perform signal conversions at optimized points along the transmission path. By strategically placing these retimers, the system achieves necessary data transmission capability while minimizing the total number of conversions required, thereby reducing overall power consumption associated with electrical-optical-electrical conversion processes.
3Speed
If electrical signals are converted to optical signals and vice versa along an end-to-end path in hybrid interconnect systems, then data transmission capability is improved, but costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs optical retimers as intermediary components that enable hybrid interconnect functionality. By using standardized retimer devices at strategic points, the system achieves improved data transmission capability while leveraging existing manufacturing processes and components, thereby controlling costs despite the added complexity of hybrid electrical-optical interconnects.
4Loss of time
If optical retimers perform retiming operations between electrical and optical interconnects, then latency is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the hybrid interconnect system into multiple segments, each containing optical retimers that perform localized retiming operations. This segmentation allows latency reduction through distributed signal processing while keeping each individual retimer device relatively simple in design, as each handles only a portion of the overall signal transmission task.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces latency, power consumption, and costs by enabling efficient data transfer across hybrid interconnect systems, supporting rack and pod level disaggregation, and improving communication performance in high-performance computing and data centers.
Implementation Method 1
optical retimers that perform retiming operations between electrical and optical interconnects
Data Source
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AI summary
Optical connectivity for interconnects are described. A method includes determining an optical interconnect supports a defined optical mode, decoding electrical signals from an electrical interconnect, the electrical signals to represent a number of bits from one or more messages, converting the electrical signals to optical signals for the optical interconnect, and mapping the decoded bits to one or more optical channels of the optical interconnect. Other embodiments are described and claimed.