4 ms·
While interesting this approach is not any faster than the Ge based photodiodes that we have currently. State of the art is ~-110GHz in Germanium Si photonics
by mmmBacon 1y ago
While interesting this approach is not any faster than the Ge based photodiodes that we have currently. State of the art is ~-110GHz in Germanium Si photonics using standard fabs. This is only 50GHz.
- momoschili 1y agoA key here for western users is that it does not include Ge, which is notably a material that China has a stranglehold on.
- jiggawatts 1y agoCanada and Spain are major producers. America will be fine as long as they don’t start a trade war with every country all at once. Oh.. ohhh… you threatened Canada with annexation too? Oh boy.
- momoschili 1y agoproducing raw material does not mean you can process it. The American defense branches have been searching for Ge-free alternatives for thermal optics, etc since during Biden's presidency. The trade war is significant, but does not change the calculus here.
- frainfreeze 1y agoIsn't state of the art already in the 300Ghz range?
- mmmBacon 1y agoSure for InGaAs. The paper is claiming faster for AI so the relevant metric is to compare to what can be shipped today for such applications. To scale for AI we need devices that integrate with standard CMOS processes. More exotic materials can be integrated but they are not very practical for highly integrated systems. NVIDIA’s recent announcement for their copackaged optical switch is in a silicon only ecosystem.
- glumreaper 1y agoI got the impression that "faster" refers to potential bandwidth, as the device responds to shorter wavelengths (300nm to 1.6nm) than other photodetectors. Shorter wavelengths means higher frequencies, "number go up" = more data per second. This is press release language though, it could mean anything.
- glumreaper 1y agoThe 50GHz or 20ps figure is actually the limit of the gear the scientists had available - from the paper at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6463/ad9284/meta https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6463/ad9284/... "the signal state transitions were established at less than 20 ps, which is comparable to the bandwidth limit of the oscilloscope utilized at 50 GHz. [...] the initial rise time constant may be shorter than the measurement limits of the oscilloscope."
- mmmBacon 1y agoSure. But it’s on them to prove their claim that the device is faster and they haven’t done that. There are faster scopes and you can rent them.