The goal of this project is to shrink the size of today’s data center to fit on a handheld device or a wristwatch. By some estimates, our data centers must handle approximately 100 times more data in 10 years. By then, our healthcare services may involve interactive medical imaging in three dimensions requiring ~ 1 terabit/sec data (1000 x 1000 x 1000 pixels x 28 bits-color/pixel x 30 frames/second) processing in real time, for example. However, today’s data centers typically consume megawatts of power and require massive power distribution and cooling infrastructure. CITRIS researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of nanophotonic switches and optically interconnected memory systems. The Seed Funded project has attracted a new DARPA Si-PhASER project worth $1.732 million for the phase I (18 months) with possible follow-up funding. The first-round CITRIS Seed Funded project also spurred four workshops at HP in San Francisco and Vienna, and allowed submission of a new NSF Engineering Research Center proposal ($37.5 million) and a new NSF Science and Technology Center proposal ($50 million).
Ultra-high Performance, Low Power & Ubiquitous Data Centers on a Chip
