Hardware Podcasts

From Apple to OpenLight: Silicon Photonics and Integrated Lasers with Dr. Tom Mader

Moore's Lobby · 18 Apr 2023 · 41m · Episode 4

What this episode covers

Dr. Tom Mader, COO of OpenLight, discusses his career path from internships at Apple and Hughes to founding the Light Peak project at Intel, which evolved into the Thunderbolt interface. He explains OpenLight's business model as an Arm-like IP provider for silicon photonics, offering a Process Design Kit (PDK) that integrates InP lasers and amplifiers onto silicon wafers via molecular bonding. Mader details the technical challenges of designing integrated lasers, the shift from copper to optical interconnects in data centers and LiDAR, and the importance of EDA tools for photonic design.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
OpenLight, Intel, Juniper Networks, Synopsys, Tower Semiconductor, Arm
Products
Thunderbolt, Light Peak, Amazon Dash Button
Also
Silicon Photonics

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