IBM Optical Chip Moves Data At 1Tbps

snydeq writes "IBM researchers have developed a prototype optical chip that can transfer data at 1Tbps, the equivalent of downloading 500 high-definition movies, using light pulses, the company said Thursday. The chip, called Holey Optochip, is a parallel optical transceiver consisting of both a transmitter and a receiver, and is designed to handle the large amount of data created and transmitted over corporate and consumer networks as a result of new applications and services. It is expected to power future supercomputer and data center applications, an area where IBM already uses optical technology." User judgecorp links to more coverage, writing "The record was achieved because 24 holes in the chip allow direct access to lasers connected to the chip."

Holey Optochip Batman

[Anonymous Coward]

n/m

What kind of kick-ass compression?

[Splab]

1 terabit per second is 128 gigabyte per second - if they can fit 500 HD in 128 GB that compression is to me a much more important breakthrough...

Re:Uploads?

[masternerdguy]

10 years in jail I imagine. But think of how fast you could pirate things with the advances in technology when you get out!

640Gbps

[circletimessquare]

ought to be enough for anybody.

Re:What kind of kick-ass compression?

[Tea-Bone of Brooklyn]

They don't actually say how long it would take. Maybe it's just as cool as downloading 500 HD movies or something. The statement is sort of like "It goes 50,000 MPH, the equivalent of flying to Mars."

Re:Measuring in HD movies?

[Intrepid imaginaut]

Great news, they've gotten my porn collection transfer time metric down to three hours fourteen minutes, that's a new record.

Re:Uploads?

[Sqr(twg)]

Yes, or simply 315 569 260 jails.