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photonic x86 CPU design
A rumor is that yet another x86 startup company (as in Cyrix)
has opened shop on Freedom Circle (which by no coincidence, is next-door to Transmeta). Dozens of tech companies tried to compete in the x86 arena and all failed (including AMD in terms of profitability). The twist is that this x86 CPU will be based on photonic technology. Photonics opens a world of design and architecture possibilities, as compared to an electronic device where power dissipation has historically limited architectural enhancements/innovations. |
As soon as I hear photonics in relation to CPUs, I immediately think
scam. Yousuf Khan |
YKhan wrote:
As soon as I hear photonics in relation to CPUs, I immediately think scam. Yousuf Khan Intel recently demonstrated in-silicon infrared laser, so I think it will not remain this way much longer. There is not many other ways to go if you want to keep increasing bandwith inside the chip. Regards, Evgenij |
Nathan Bates wrote:
A rumor is that yet another x86 startup company (as in Cyrix) has opened shop on Freedom Circle (which by no coincidence, is next-door to Transmeta). Dozens of tech companies tried to compete in the x86 arena and all failed (including AMD in terms of profitability). I presume you mean "not as much profit" rather than "unprofitable." The twist is that this x86 CPU will be based on photonic technology. Photonics opens a world of design and architecture possibilities, as compared to an electronic device where power dissipation has historically limited architectural enhancements/innovations. Do post when they start shipping anything other than glowing projections. Like fusion and quantum computing, it's clear that it would be much better than any existing alternative, if you could get it working in any cost effective way. In future tech, I'm much more impressed with the possibilities of that company which can produce quantity boron-doped semiconducting diamond for substrate. That seems to be deliverable with technology which exists currently, although not all in the same place. I spent a few decades at a major R&D lab, research is proving it can be done, development is finding out how. There's a lot of engineering needed to get photonic computing going. Just as a first thought, I would think that a RISC design would be easier to emulate if that were a goal. -- bill davidsen SBC/Prodigy Yorktown Heights NY data center http://newsgroups.news.prodigy.com |
Bill Davidsen wrote:
I spent a few decades at a major R&D lab, research is proving it can be done, development is finding out how. There's a lot of engineering needed to get photonic computing going. Just as a first thought, I would think that a RISC design would be easier to emulate if that were a goal. Or some kind of an embedded RISC core, with no FPU or stuff like that. Yousuf Khan |
On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 01:17:01 +0200, Nathan Bates
wrote: The twist is that this x86 CPU will be based on photonic technology. Photonics can you say bling bling? I just hope they got themselves lots of room for those flashlights and mirrors. -- the penguins are psychotic aka just smile and wave |
As soon as I hear photonics in relation to CPUs, I immediately think
scam. Manufacturing a CPU on silicon was an enormous scam. Just melt worthless sand into tiny wafers and sell each one for $1,000. Seriously, here's an intriguing article mentioning Intel, AMD, FreeScale, and Transmeta regarding photonics: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1779951,00.asp Thru design to tape-out, a new x86 CPU based on CMOS technology will take 3 years min to develop. A photonic x86 will take much longer, maybe 5..7 years, and expect a rate of advancement of photonic technology. Sounds like the classic gamble for Silicon Valley VCs. |
In article .com, "Nathan Bates" writes: | As soon as I hear photonics in relation to CPUs, I immediately think | scam. | | Manufacturing a CPU on silicon was an enormous scam. | Just melt worthless sand into tiny wafers and sell each one for $1,000. A long time back, someone wrote an article about the forthcoming silicon shortage, if computer use kept expanding. | Seriously, here's an intriguing article mentioning | Intel, AMD, FreeScale, and Transmeta regarding photonics: | http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1779951,00.asp Sigh. Most of that is about the electro-optical converters, which are produced in large numbers today but are not scalable. If Luxtera or anyone else can manage to integrate those with CPUs, it would make massive difference to interconnects and might even be used inside a chip to reduce latency. | Thru design to tape-out, a new x86 CPU based on CMOS technology | will take 3 years min to develop. A photonic x86 will take much | longer, | maybe 5..7 years, and expect a rate of advancement of photonic | technology. | Sounds like the classic gamble for Silicon Valley VCs. Complex optical logic is another game. Yes, maybe 5-7 years. But also maybe 50-70. Sane people don't believe tight schedules for developing new, known to be difficult, technology. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 14:18:47 +0000, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article .com, "Nathan Bates" writes: | Thru design to tape-out, a new x86 CPU based on CMOS technology | will take 3 years min to develop. A photonic x86 will take much | longer, | maybe 5..7 years, and expect a rate of advancement of photonic | technology. | Sounds like the classic gamble for Silicon Valley VCs. Complex optical logic is another game. Yes, maybe 5-7 years. But also maybe 50-70. Sane people don't believe tight schedules for developing new, known to be difficult, technology. Jeez! After we get nuclear fusion tackled we'll not need photonics. Processors can then scale to 1.21GW and there won't be any need for photonics. Indeed, my money would be on Mr. Fusion first. After all, it has a 50 year head start. -- Keith |
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