#optical interconnect

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Two parallel optical benches in bright daylight, one showing a light beam simply connecting two chip mounts, the other showing a light beam passing through a distinct computing element, a clear physical divider between the two lanes caught being set into place

Two Different Things Both Get Called "Photonic Computing." Only One of Them Does Math With Light.

Optical interconnects, already shipping, move data between chips faster and cooler. Optical compute, still emerging, tries to do the actual arithmetic with light. Conflating the two overstates how far this technology has actually come.

By Brecht Corbeel · August 10, 2026 · 4 min read

A silicon photonic chip on a bright test stage with a fibre array caught mid-alignment above it, the array's individual fibre tips not yet touching the chip's optical coupling points

AI Hardware & Semiconductors

Lightmatter Wants to Replace Copper Wires With Light Inside the Chip Too

Nvidia and Marvell are both betting on optics to connect chips together. Lightmatter's bet goes one step further: using light for the connections inside a chip package as well.

By Brecht Corbeel · August 10, 2026 · 4 min read

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