It's broadband, Jim, but not as we know it: Japanese tech giants are developing a broadband optical SSD for data centers

Date:
Sat, 12 Apr 2025 17:34:00 +0000

Description:
Three Japanese tech giants are developing a broadband optical SSD for data centers.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Broadban d Optical SSDs may be key to development of town-sized mega data centers Opting for optical SSDs allow distance between compute and storage to grow
far more The other advantage of going optical is the energy savings
associated with moving petabytes of data around

A trio of Japanese tech giants, Kioxia, AIO Core, and Kyocera, have announced the development of a prototype broadband SSD with an optical interface that works with the PCIe 5.0 standard.

The optical SSD prototype has reportedly achieved "functional operation"
using PCIe 5.0, which offers double the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0.

This was made possible through a combination of AIO Cores IOCore optical transceiver and Kyoceras OPTINITY optoelectronic integration module. Going optical

This optical SSD was created to handle the demands of modern applications
like generative AI, which rely on moving large amounts of data quickly.

The use of optical connections in SSDs could help reduce the physical limitations tied to traditional electrical interfaces, especially in large-scale data center environments.

The three firms say they plan to continue developing the technology and apply it to proof-of-concept testing aimed at future real-world use.

One of the major benefits of going optical is the ability to increase the physical distance between compute and storage without losing performance or energy efficiency. This is expected to be especially useful for data centers that span wider areas.

There's also the added advantage of reduced energy use when shifting
petabytes of data, which could help meet growing environmental goals in the tech industry.

The project's aim is to ultimately create new digital infrastructure technologies that cut energy use in data centers by over 40% compared to current systems.

This work is part of Japans Next Generation Green Data Center Technology Development project, JPNP21029, which receives funding from the New Energy
and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) through the Green Innovation Fund Project.

Each company brings specific expertise to support the shared goal of building more efficient and capable data infrastructure for the future. Kioxia is focusing on broadband optical SSD development, AIO Core is working on optoelectronic fusion devices, and Kyocera is creating optoelectronic packaging. You might also like New research leads the way to creating
cheaper, more practical optical storage Intel debuts crucial optical tech
that will boost AI performance 'A single optical fiber': Scientists build a silicon-less computer that use light waves



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/its-broadband-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it-japanese -tech-giants-are-developing-a-broadband-optical-ssd-for-data-centers


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