The evolution of PCI Express (PCIe) technology, a vital interface in the realm of PC components, is poised for further advancements. To push the boundaries of speed and bandwidth, the tech industry is now considering the integration of optical connections into the PCIe interface.
On Wednesday, the standards group PCI-SIG unveiled plans to establish a new workgroup with the mission to develop PCIe technology utilizing optical connections.
The PC industry is currently rolling out PCIe 5 on motherboards and SSD drives, while the PCIe 7.0 specification is already in the works. PCIe 7.0 aims to offer bidirectional bandwidth of up to 512GB/s upon its anticipated rollout, projected for around 2027.
However, as PCIe interfaces strive for even higher speed thresholds, challenges may arise. The existing interface relies on electrical signals transmitted over copper cabling and pins, a setup that can generate significant heat, especially at higher speeds.
In contrast, optical connectors leverage light signals for data transmission, enabling even greater speeds without heat generation. The potential benefits of optical connections have spurred significant industry interest, prompting PCI-SIG to explore this avenue.
Nathan Brookwood, a researcher at the consultancy Insight 64, explained, “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.”
The ultimate goal is to establish an optical-based PCIe interface that is “technology-agnostic,” facilitating easy adoption by vendors for their products. Prominent members of PCI-SIG, including Apple, Arm, Intel, Nvidia, and Samsung, among others, are part of this collaborative endeavor.
If an optical PCIe interface becomes a reality, it is likely to find its initial use in enterprise systems such as supercomputers and data centers, where the demands for speed and bandwidth far exceed those of consumer products.
