Can Silicon Photonics Solve the Bandwidth Bottleneck in AI Data Centers?
Moore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
Release Date: 05/21/2024
Moore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
Sensors are shrinking. They are moving into places we never thought possible. In this episode of Moore’s Lobby, host Daniel Bogdanoff sits down with Ted Karlin from Infineon. They discuss how 60 GHz radar is changing the electronics landscape. From smart homes to consumer laptops, radar is replacing traditional cameras. Learn why this high-frequency technology is the next big step in hardware design. Breaking Down 60 GHz Pure CMOS Radar Traditional radar systems often rely on BiCMOS technology. However, Infineon is pushing the boundaries. They are bringing a 60 GHz radar device to the market...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
The semiconductor landscape is changing faster than ever. Chips now power everything from AI to advanced automotive systems. At the heart of this rapid revolution is semiconductor intellectual property (IP). In this episode, Daniel Bogdanoff sits down with John Koeter of Synopsys. They explore how pre-verified silicon blocks accelerate chip design. They also discuss the massive shift toward multi-die systems and the future role of AI in engineering. Accelerating Chip Design with Pre-Verified IP and Multi-Die Architectures As Moore's law slows down, chip designers face extreme physical...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
Joaquin Torrecilla began his engineering career programming a Sinclair Spectrum in Basic and Assembler. He later tested some of the industry's very first commercial Bluetooth solutions. Today, he remains at the forefront of RF and protocol testing. In this episode, Joaquin shares key insights from his 20 years with the 3GPP RAN Plenary. He also discusses the complex balance required to create and certify global wireless testing standards. The conversation dives deep into the game-changing capabilities of 5G Advanced. Joaquin breaks down the impact of: Network Slicing: Customizing virtual...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
In this insightful interview, embedded computing pioneer Christian Eder sits down with host Daniel Bogdanoff to explore the past, present, and future of modular systems design. As a co-founder of congatec, Christian draws on over 30 years of industry experience to highlight how Computer-on-Modules (COMS) have transformed modern electronics. Christian discusses the strategic decisions that fueled congatec's growth into a leading board manufacturer and outlines why standardizing technology benefits the entire ecosystem. He details the development and roll-out of critical open standards,...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
In this fascinating interview, Sergiy Nesterenko details the journey that ultimately drove him to solve a critical bottleneck in hardware engineering: the manual, slow process of printed circuit board (PCB) layout. In his discussion with our Moore’s Lobby host, Daniel Bogdanoff, Sergiy shares engaging anecdotes from his early career, including a SpaceX internship where he was assigned to literally watch paint dry. He also describes his first attempt at PCB layout at SpaceX, where a power switch board caught fire in his hands. This experience fueled his desire to bring robust automation to...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
In the engineering world, we rely on sensors to acquire data from real-world processes and machines. Deciding how to use that data is very important. The right decisions impact process efficiency, system reliability, and even worker safety. Join Control.com’s David Peterson as he chats with Kate Sokolnicki of Rockwell Automation in this episode of the Moore’s Lobby podcast. Sokolnicki explains the evolution of industrial sensing and the shift toward data-driven manufacturing. They discuss many key technological advancements, including: -IO-Link as a standard: Simple...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
The "old school" way was simple: a sensor sees a part, tells the controller, and the actuator moves. It was pure hardware logic, and it worked. But in today’s smart factories, that’s only half the story. Modern sensors aren't just on/off switches anymore—they are eyes and ears, and sometimes even the brains, of the automation. However, surprisingly few engineers really understand both the hardware and software sides of machine data. In this episode of the Moore’s Lobby podcast, ’s David Peterson discusses sensors with Nils Beckmann, an expert with a background in both sensor hardware...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
Automation engineers have heard a lot about condition monitoring in recent years as one of the most common examples of how AI and digital transformation are actually hitting the ground with real results for industry. Sensing is certainly the foundation of the process, but it requires the proper mix of equipment and know-how to move from a simple project to a fully scaled-up implementation. In this episode of the Moore’s Lobby podcast, ’s David Peterson visits Salim Dabbous, the Director of Consulting & Digital Solutions at SICK. Salim has a broad background that includes working with...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
In this episode of the Moore’s Lobby podcast, we sit down with Antonio Di Vaira, Senior VP for Power Product of Schneider Electric to discuss the massive shifts happening in the world of energy distribution. The conversation kicks off by exploring how the explosive growth of electric vehicles and energy-hungry technologies like AI are pushing traditional power grids to their breaking point. He also explains that while building out new grid capacity is part of the long-term solution, the industry needs ways to sustain this growth in the short term. This sets the stage for a deep dive into...
info_outlineMoore's Lobby: Where engineers talk all about circuits
Technologists and leaders will be interested in hearing Mike explain how 3M's R&D culture that emphasizes collaborative problem-solving. They continue to leverage their "15% time" philosophy to fosters creative solutions that are being applied to our rapidly electrifying world. If you're passionate about how fundamental material science is enabling breakthrough innovation in the electrical engineering world, this is an episode you don't want to miss. : -The Surprising Role of Adhesives and Tapes: A look at how 3M's advanced materials are critical components in everything from wind...
info_outlineSteve Klinger, Vice President of Product, joins the Moore’s Lobby podcast to discuss how LightMatter is using silicon photonics to improve speed and reduce power consumption in AI data centers. With two previous $1B+ startups under his belt, Klinger knows a thing or two about identifying successful technology solutions to current industry challenges. While compute performance continues to grow rapidly, interconnect has not been able to keep pace. In this episode, Klinger explains how LightMatter’s flagship product, Passage, creates a programmable optical fabric for the efficient interconnect of chiplets and other silicon ICs.
Klinger explains that they are trying to solve the problem of efficiently accessing all of the bandwidth on one chip and sharing it with another chip. If they can improve the interconnect bandwidth density, it will allow performance scaling to continue increasing at the workload level. Klinger emphasizes, “There are data centers with hundreds of millions of dollars of GPUs sitting idle, waiting for the network topology or the interconnects to catch up.”
So, join our host, Daniel Bogdanoff, in this deep dive into silicon photonics with Klinger. In this discussion, they address many fascinating topics, including:
- What makes silicon photonics unique from traditional photonics?
- The common traits shared by Klinger’s previous $1B+ startups.
- The many job openings available at LightMatter.