Ahead of the 2024 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC), MediaTek (last week) announced it is launching a next-generation custom ASIC design platform that includes the heterogeneous integration of both high-speed electrical and optical I/Os in the same ASIC implementation. MediaTek will be demonstrating a serviceable socketed implementation that combines 8x800G electrical links and 8x800G optical links for a more flexible deployment. It integrates both MediaTek's in-house SerDes for electrical I/O as well as co-packaged Odin optical engines from Ranovus for optical I/O. Leveraging the heterogeneous solution that includes both 112G LR SerDes and optical modules, this CPO demonstration delivers reduced board space and device costs, boosts bandwidth density, and lowers system power by up to 50% compared to existing solutions.

Additionally, Ranovus' Odin optical engine has the option to provide either internal or external laser optical modules to better align with practical usage scenarios. MediaTek's ASIC experience and capabilities in the 3 nm advanced process, 2.5D and 3D advanced packaging, thermal management, and reliability, combined with optical experience, makes it possible for customers to access the latest technology for high-performance computing (HPC), AI/ML and data center networking.

Responding to gamer demands for an enhanced Switch controller experience and inspired by the Gamecube style, NYXI Wizard Series Joy-pad has taken the gaming community by storm. This idea was a brainchild of Michael, CEO of NYXI, who is tech-savvy, as well as being a nostalgia and gaming enthusiast. The success of the Wizard Series exemplifies NYXI unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional performance tailored to the gaming community's preferences.

A Technological Leap Forward for NYXI
Fueled by the cutting-edge technology, NYXI is thrilled to unveil the latest innovation, the NYXI Warrior, which redefines NGC controllers with multi-platform compatibility and ultimate performance.

Corsair proudly announced the launch of two attention-grabbing additions to the M75 gaming mouse lineup: M75 and M75 WIRELESS. Blazing onto the scene with the same award-winning shape and match-winning performance established by the M75 AIR, these new mice deliver utmost comfort and control, while also infusing a streak of RGB into their lightweight designs. For the most competitive matches, M75 and M75 WIRELESS put you in fantastic shape to win, and look great doing it.

The meticulously sculpted M75 mouse design glides into the spotlight once again, with an unwavering focus on precision and ergonomics. M75 series mice are uniquely shaped from the ground up to comprise some of the most thoughtfully crafted gaming mice available. At 74 g and 89 g respectively, M75 and M75 WIRELESS are lightweight and agile enough to make deft flicks and microadjustments.

The University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST), Peking University and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) are collaborating on new Optical Data Storage (ODS) technologies—a recently published paper reveals that scientists are attempting to create 3D nanoscale optical disk memory that breaks into petabit capacities. Society (as a whole) has an ever-growing data demand—this requires the development of improved high-capacity storage technologies—the R&D teams believe that ODS presents a viable alternative route to traditional present day solutions: "data centers based on major storage technologies such as semiconductor flash devices and hard disk drives have high energy burdens, high operation costs and short lifespans."

The proposed ODS format could be a "promising solution for cost-effective long-term archival data storage." The researchers note that current (e.g Blu-ray) and previous generation ODS technologies have been: "limited by low capacities and the challenge of increasing areal density." In order to get ODS up to petabit capacity levels, several innovations are required—the Nature.com abstract stated: "extending the planar recording architecture to three dimensions with hundreds of layers, meanwhile breaking the optical diffraction limit barrier of the recorded spots. We develop an optical recording medium based on a photoresist film doped with aggregation-induced emission dye, which can be optically stimulated by femtosecond laser beams. This film is highly transparent and uniform, and the aggregation-induced emission phenomenon provides the storage mechanism. It can also be inhibited by another deactivating beam, resulting in a recording spot with a super-resolution scale." The novel optical storage medium relies on dye-doped photoresist (DDPR) with aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIE-DDPR)—a 515 nm femtosecond Gaussian laser beam takes care of optical writing tasks, while a doughnut-shaped 639 nm continuous wave laser beam is tasked with retrieval. A 480 nm pulsed laser and a 592 nm continuous wave laser work in tandem to read data.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced an arsenal of gaming peripherals and gear at CES 2024. ROG strives to transcend the limits of what's currently possible and its latest offerings are designed to empower gamers with the tools to dominate gaming worlds. These offerings include the ROG Keris II Ace ultralight gaming mouse, ROG Falchion RX Low Profile 65% gaming keyboard, ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova gaming headphones, ROG Carnyx USB condenser microphone, and the ROG Archer ErgoAir Gaming Backpack.

ROG Keris II Ace
The ROG Keris II Ace is an ultralight gaming mouse made for competitive gamers and esports athletes. Designed with input and feedback from esports professionals, the Keris II Ace's sleek, minimalist aesthetic offers the perfect balance of functionality and form. Its environmentally friendly, bio-based nylon shell is derived from renewable castor oil, giving it an overall weight of just 54 grams to significantly reduce wrist fatigue during marathon gaming sessions. The optical micro switches used in the Keris II Ace offer consistent actuation and are extremely durable with a 100-million-click lifespan.

Ayar Labs, a leader in silicon photonics for chip-to-chip connectivity, will showcase its in-package optical I/O solution integrated with Intel's industry-leading Agilex Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. In demonstrating 5x current industry bandwidth at 5x lower power and 20x lower latency, the optical FPGA - packaged in a common PCIe card form factor - has the potential to transform the high performance computing (HPC) landscape for data-intensive workloads such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and support novel new disaggregated compute and memory architectures and more.

"We're on the cusp of a new era in high performance computing as optical I/O becomes a 'must have' building block for meeting the exponentially growing, data-intensive demands of emerging technologies like generative AI," said Charles Wuischpard, CEO of Ayar Labs. "Showcasing the integration of Ayar Labs' silicon photonics and Intel's cutting-edge FPGA technology at Supercomputing is a concrete demonstration that optical I/O has the maturity and manufacturability needed to meet these critical demands."

CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gear for gamers and content creators, announced the launch of their definitive ultra-lightweight wireless mouse for top FPS play, M75 AIR WIRELESS. Sporting a modern and sleek mouse shape for maximum comfort and control, M75 AIR puts players in position for victory, every match.

With its symmetrical shape meticulously crafted from the ground up, M75 AIR ascends to the pinnacle of competitive mouse design. Through a rigorous process, every contour, outline, and button placement was diligently reworked until the optimal shape took form.

Avicena, a privately held company headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, is demonstrating its LightBundle multi-Tbps chip-to-chip interconnect technology at the European Conference for Optical Communications (ECOC) 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland (https://www.ecocexhibition.com/). Avicena's microLED-based LightBundle architecture breaks new ground by unlocking the performance of processors, memory and sensors, removing key bandwidth and proximity constraints while simultaneously offering class leading energy efficiency.

"As generative AI continues to evolve, the role of high bandwidth-density, low-power and low latency interconnects between xPUs and HBM modules cannot be overstated", says Chris Pfistner, VP Sales & Marketing of Avicena. "Avicena's innovative LightBundle interconnects have the potential to fundamentally change the way processors connect to each other and to memory because their inherent parallelism is well-matched to the internal wide and slow bus architecture within ICs. With a roadmap to multi-terabit per second capacity and sub-pJ/bit efficiency these interconnects are poised to enable the next era of AI innovation, paving the way for even more capable models and a wide range of AI applications that will shape the future."

THX Ltd., a world-class high-fidelity audio and video tuning, certification, and technology company, today announced it is launching THX Interconnect, designed in partnership with Pixelgen. THX Interconnect are a family of Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 cables capable of delivering 100% uncompressed 48 Gbps signaling to optimize the fidelity and reliability of nearly any sized or configured home theater system. THX is also relaunching its popular home theater installer THX Certified Training series. Both will be highlighted in early September in Denver, Colorado at the CEDIA Expo.

"The THX mission is to empower high-fidelity entertainment, regardless of where and how consumers want to enjoy movies, music and games," said Jason Fiber, chief executive officer, THX Ltd. "The THX Interconnect cables ensure all home theater components work in harmony at the highest resolutions, regardless of the length. We are pleased to bring home theater enthusiasts around the globe this cost-effective and incredibly reliable new solution. We also look forward to reintroducing the THX Certified Training program which has been dormant for a few years but is back due to overwhelming demand from the home theater installation industry."

Lightelligence, the global leader in photonic computing and connectivity systems, today announced Photowave, the first optical communications hardware designed for PCIe and Compute Express Link (CXL) connectivity, unleashing next-generation workload efficiency.

Photowave, an Optical Networking (oNET) transceiver leveraging the significant latency and energy efficiency of photonics technology, empowers data center managers to scale resources within or across server racks. The first public demonstration of Photowave will be at Flash Memory Summit today through Thursday, August 10, in Santa Clara, Calif.

PCI-SIG today announced the formation of a new workgroup to deliver PCI Express (PCIe) technology over optical connections. The PCI-SIG Optical Workgroup intends to be optical technology-agnostic, supporting a wide range of optical technologies, while potentially developing technology-specific form factors.

"Optical connections will be an important advancement for PCIe architecture as they will allow for higher performance, lower power consumption, extended reach and reduced latency," said Nathan Brookwood, Research Fellow at Insight 64. "Many data-demanding markets and applications such as Cloud and Quantum Computing, Hyperscale Data Centers and High-Performance Computing will benefit from PCIe architecture leveraging optical connections."

Targus, the number one laptop case brand in the US and Canada and a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, today announced the availability of its patent-pending ErgoFlip EcoSmart Mouse, a sustainable, full-sized, ergonomic mouse that easily converts from right- to left-hand use with a simple twist of the top.

This eco-friendly mouse is made with up to 85 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and comes in packaging made from recycled materials. It also uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology which is four times more power efficient than competitive BLE chipsets to reduce power consumption and extend battery life.

Announced today, Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC) is bringing together leading companies for industry-wide cooperation to build a complete Ethernet-based communication stack architecture for high-performance networking. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) workloads are rapidly evolving and require best-in-class functionality, performance, interoperability and total cost of ownership, without sacrificing developer and end-user friendliness. The Ultra Ethernet solution stack will capitalize on Ethernet's ubiquity and flexibility for handling a wide variety of workloads while being scalable and cost-effective.

Ultra Ethernet Consortium is founded by companies with long-standing history and experience in high-performance solutions. Each member is contributing significantly to the broader ecosystem of high-performance in an egalitarian manner. The founding members include AMD, Arista, Broadcom, Cisco, Eviden (an Atos Business), HPE, Intel, Meta and Microsoft, who collectively have decades of networking, AI, cloud and high-performance computing-at-scale deployments.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, keep investing a lot of resources in development of gaming peripherals, today launched AORUS M6 lightweight wireless gaming mouse. The AORUS M6 adopts the optimized wireless technology and the enthusiast-grade optical sensor to meet the needs of gamers, allowing gamers to fully express their battle power in the game without worrying about hardware limitations. The symmetrical ergonomic design and classic Omron switches, together with the lightweight and comfortable design, allow gamers not only to use it comfortably, but also to use it for a long time without getting tired.

The AORUS M6 boasts an enthusiast-grade 26,000 DPI optical sensor, capable of 650ips and 50G acceleration, giving gamers the ultimate accuracy for competitive gaming. Adjustability in 50 DPI increments further allows users to make a seamless transition from their old mouse by fine-tuning the level that precisely fits their play style. AORUS M6 is equipped with 1 ms low latency 2.4 GHz wireless technology, which overcomes the interference of environmental noise and transmission delay. It realizes uninterrupted high-speed signal transmission, so that the mouse can operate smoothly. The way of wireless transmission eliminates the cable interference that plagues gamers. The lightweight design of 74 grams, even with a built-in battery module, is lighter than most wired mice, allowing gamers to easily operate for a long time. Due to the lightweight ergonomic design, 50 million Japanese Omron switches, symmetrical design, and a pair of side buttons on the left and right sides, AORUS M6 can be used comfortably by both left and right hands.

Global LiFi technology firms pureLiFi and Fraunhofer HHI welcome the release of IEEE 802.11bb as the latest global light communications standard alongside IEEE 802.11 WiFi standards. The bb standard marks a significant milestone for the LiFi market, as it provides a globally recognised framework for deployment of LiFi technology.

LiFi is a wireless technology that uses light rather than radio frequencies to transmit data. By harnessing the light spectrum, LiFi can unleash faster, more reliable wireless communications with unparalleled security compared to conventional technologies such as WiFi and 5G. The Light Communications 802.11bb Task Group was formed in 2018 chaired by pureLiFi and supported by Fraunhofer HHI, two firms which have been at the forefront of LiFi development efforts. Both organisations aim to see accelerated adoption and interoperability not only between LiFi vendors but also with WiFi technologies as a result of these standardisation efforts.

Metalenz, the world leader in metasurface optics, today announced it has partnered with leading semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corporation ("UMC") to release its direct supply chain to mass production and bring the unrivaled scale and precision of semiconductor manufacturing to the optics industry. The announcement marks the launch of metasurface optics on the open market for the first time and follows multiple design wins for Metalenz with leading OEMs in Asia.

"After initially designing meta-optics in partnership with one of the leading suppliers of 3D sensing solutions, we are now engaged with OEMs directly to bring the benefits of metasurface optics to their 3D sensing applications. By partnering with a world-class foundry like UMC, we gain the manufacturing capabilities, expertise, and global reach to serve customers interested in adopting our meta-optics technology," said Rob Devlin, Co-founder and CEO of Metalenz. "This will further accelerate our growth as we are becoming the leading provider of precision optics for 3D sensing solutions."

ASUS introduced the ROG Strix Impact III, a lightweight, compact, quasi-ambidextrous, wired gaming mouse. Measuring 126 mm x 62 mm x 39 mm (LxWxH), and weighing just 59 g, the mouse is optimized for mainly claw and fingertip grip types, as its slender design may not be the best fit for palm grips. FPS is the most suitable game genre for this mouse. It features a 5-button layout—two main buttons, two left-side buttons, and the middle-click, along with a vertical scrollwheel. There's also a physical button to cycle among dpi presets, which is set in the ROG Armory app. Under the hood, the ROG Strix Impact III rocks a PixArt PAW3318 optical sensor with 12,000 dpi hardware resolution, with 300 ips top speed, and 35 ips acceleration, along with a USB polling rate of 1000 Hz. The main buttons are backed by 70 million-click rated ROG microswitches. PFTE gliding feet, and a braided USB cable makes for the rest of it. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Kyocera Corporation today announced it has developed an On-Board Optics Module that achieves world-record bandwidth of 512 Gbps. The module is expected to support high-speed network applications, such as data centers. Additionally, by converting electrical signals into optical signals, the module uses much less power than conventional alternatives and will also help decrease power consumption and promote sustainability.

Kyocera's prototype module is miniaturized for installation on a printed circuit board near the processor, allowing electronic data to be converted into optical signals instantaneously. In addition, the product is designed to create unprecedented improvements in signal-to-noise ratio, virtually eliminating the signal loss caused by conventional electrical conductors. As a result of these technological advances, Kyocera's On-Board Optics Module has achieved world-record bandwidth of 512 gigabits per second (Gbps) and is expected to help data centers and supercomputers save power while increasing bandwidth and data transfer rates.

ASUS today announced SmartO Mouse MD200, an ergonomic wireless mouse that includes ASUS Antibacterial Guard, an elastic carrying loop, a high-performance 4200 dpi optical sensor, long-lasting switches and 100% PTFE mouse feet. Connections to devices are made via RF 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth 5.0, with either mode providing high data throughput to ensure accurate, lag-free response. SmartO Mouse MD200 can connect to up to three devices via Bluetooth, for convenient multitasking. Intuitive Armoury Crate software enables various customization options, including the ability to tweak sensitivity levels and polling rate, and it allows users to view battery level.

The innovative concealed carrying loop can be effortlessly slipped over the user's finger, making it especially useful when moving from a workstation to a meeting room. The strap can also be used to hang the mouse when not in use for a neater workstation. SmartO Mouse MD200 also includes a thumb rest to ensure comfort, even after hours of use. The mouse's ASUS Antibacterial Guard protective coat has passed the ISO 22196 international standard and is certified by the Society of Industrial Technology for Antimicrobial Articles (SIAA).

POINTek, Inc., a global leader and provider of high performance athermal AWGs, announced launching of new Application- Specific Optical Fiber Array Products, Silicon Photonics (SiPh) Fiber Arrays, which is capable of supporting the back-end packaging for Silicon Photonics Integrated Circuits (PIC). This new Silicon Photonics Fiber Arrays have the excellent characteristics of a fine fiber-end mirror-surface quality and an accurate fiber protrusion length uniformity to match with the prefabricated V-grooves on a Silicon PIC chip. The required fiber protrusion length is typically 5 mm with ≤ ±2 um length uniformity in an array. Both Single Mode (SM) Fiber Arrays and Polarization Maintaining (PM) Fiber Arrays are available with or without 12-channel MT ferrule termination.

"This new SiPh Fiber Array is designed to passively align the multiple optical fibers into the wafer-fabricated V-grooves on the Silicon PIC chip without the expensive and complicated active alignment equipment, and furthermore, the passive alignment of the Array can be accomplished without monitoring the optical power," according to Dr. Donald Yu, CMO of POINTek, operating from Los Angeles, California. Yu explains that the optical fiber array is a key component to efficiently assemble the PIC devices for coupling the multiple fibers into the multiple I/O waveguides on a PIC chip. In the conventional optical active alignment assembly process, the expensive automatic precision alignment equipment should be utilized while monitoring the optical power in the packaging process, and it often takes the long processing time. "However, for this new SiPh Fiber Array, the fibers can be precisely placed in the Silicon PIC's V-grooves with the minimal operation costs. Therefore, the passive alignment of Silicon PIC could result in the very affordable SiPh device price in the market," Yu adds.

Folio Photonics, a leading pioneer of immutable active archive, today announced that it has achieved a significant breakthrough in multi-layer optical storage disc technology that will enable an unprecedented level of cost, security and sustainability advantage. Leveraging patented advancements in materials science, Folio Photonics has developed the first economically viable, enterprise-scale optical storage discs with dynamic multi-layer write/read capabilities, which will enable the development of radically low-cost/high-capacity disc storage.

"Folio Photonics is on a path to engendering far greater data densities than was thought possible several years ago," said John Monroe, lead analyst at Furthur Market Research and former VP analyst in the data center infrastructure group at Gartner. "Using next-generation materials, patented polymer extrusion, and film-based disc construction processes (distinct from mere optical layering), in concert with customized optical pickup units (OPUs), Folio Photonics appears poised to deliver a new optical technology that enables eight or 16 film layers per side per disc, as opposed to only three optical layers per side per disc for archival discs today, with a roadmap to add additional layers over time."

Intel Labs announces a significant advancement in its integrated photonics research - the next frontier in increasing communication bandwidth between compute silicon in data centers and across networks. The latest research features industry-leading advancements in multiwavelength integrated optics, including the demonstration of an eight-wavelength distributed feedback (DFB) laser array that is fully integrated on a silicon wafer and delivers excellent output power uniformity of +/- 0.25 decibel (dB) and wavelength spacing uniformity of ±6.5% that exceed industry specifications.

"This new research demonstrates that it's possible to achieve well-matched output power with uniform and densely spaced wavelengths. Most importantly, this can be done using existing manufacturing and process controls in Intel's fabs, thereby ensuring a clear path to volume production of the next-generation co-packaged optics and optical compute interconnect at scale." -Haisheng Rong, senior principal engineer at Intel Labs

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced the 200MP ISOCELL HP3, the image sensor with the industry's smallest 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels. "Samsung has continuously led the image sensor market trend through its technology leadership in high resolution sensors with the smallest pixels," said JoonSeo Yim, executive vice president of sensor business team at Samsung Electronics. "With our latest and upgraded 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3, Samsung will push on to deliver epic resolutions beyond professional levels for smartphone camera users."

Since its first 108MP image sensor roll-out in 2019, Samsung has been leading the trend of next-generation, ultra-high-resolution camera development. Through the steady launch of new image sensors and advancements in performance, the company is once again forging ahead with the 0.56μm 200MP ISOCELL HP3. The ISOCELL HP3, with a 12 percent smaller pixel size than the predecessor's 0.64μm, packs 200 million pixels in a 1/1.4" optical format, which is the diameter of the area that is captured through the camera lens. This means that the ISOCELL HP3 can enable an approximately 20 percent reduction in camera module surface area, allowing smartphone manufacturers to keep their premium devices slim.

Ayar Labs, the leader in chip-to-chip optical connectivity, is developing with NVIDIA groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure based on optical I/O technology to meet future demands of AI and high performance computing (HPC) workloads. The collaboration will focus on integrating Ayar Labs' technology to develop scale-out architectures enabled by high-bandwidth, low-latency and ultra-low-power optical-based interconnects for future NVIDIA products. Together, the companies plan to accelerate the development and adoption of optical I/O technology to support the explosive growth of AI and machine learning (ML) applications and data volumes.

Optical I/O uniquely changes the performance and power trajectories of system designs by enabling compute, memory and networking ASICs to communicate with dramatically increased bandwidth, at lower latency, over longer distances and at a fraction of the power of existing electrical I/O solutions. The technology is also foundational to enabling emerging heterogeneous compute systems, disaggregated/pooled designs, and unified memory architectures that are critical to accelerating future data center innovation.

CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gear for gamers and content creators, today unveiled a new optical-mechanical version of the award-winning K70 RGB TKL CHAMPION SERIES Gaming Keyboard. Featuring the acclaimed K70 RGB TKL tournament-ready tenkeyless design and stylish aluminium build, while adding hyper-fast CORSAIR OPX optical-mechanical keyswitches to its arsenal, the K70 RGB TKL Optical-Mechanical sets the bar higher still for esports-caliber gaming keyboards.

A new addition to the CHAMPION SERIES, CORSAIR OPX optical-mechanical keyswitches boast an incredibly short 1.0 mm actuation distance to swiftly register inputs. Their smooth linear motion is apt for high-level competitive gaming, and each switch is guaranteed for an extraordinary 150 million keystrokes. These premier keyswitches are housed in the iconic K70 aluminium frame renowned for its durability and portability, thanks to a compact tenkeyless profile and a detachable USB Type-C cable that makes it a snap to take on-the-go and connect to any system. Sturdy PBT double-shot keycaps, precision-molded to resist wear and fading, keep your keys looking and feeling like new even after years of use.