[CNET] — In a development announced in the journal Nature Photonics, Intel is claiming “world record” performance in optical communications using silicon photonics — based photo dectors are used to send and receive optical information, especially in very high-bandwidth applications like supercomputers. Intel says silicon photonics is essential for “ultra-fast transfer of data (in) future computers powered by many processor cores.“

The development is noticeable because it is based on silicon — a readily available, low-cost material used in semicondutor chips today — and outperforms more exotic, pricier materials. Up till now, Silicon photonics technology, using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) techniques, has suffered from performance shortcomings.

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