UPCOMING EVENTS

Photonic Integration Workshop 
Co-located with the Advanced Photonics Congress
21 June, 2012 – Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Register Now!

Special Session
Hosted by OIDA in partnership with the OSA Rochester Section 
16 October, 2012 – Rochester, NY, USA

RECENT EVENTS

From left to right: is Doug Cooper (OIDA) with OneChip Photonics, Jian Liu (OSA) from PolarOnyx and Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA)

Congressional Visits Day as experienced by OIDA member OneChip’s Doug Cooper - At the end of April, I joined my colleagues from OIDA and OSA in Washington, DC, in the annual Congressional Visits Day (CVD) hosted by the Science-Engineering-Technology Working Group. CVD brings together more than 300 scientists, educators, engineers and business leaders from around the United States to speak with lawmakers about science policy issues, federal investments in research and development (R&D) and proposed funding levels in the upcoming FY 2013 appropriations bills. Our visits were especially important given the focus in Washington on cutting the deficit. We want to ensure that the members of Congress understand the overall message that we delivered was that R&D funding is vital to the scientific community and the impact it has on the economy and innovation. I was placed on a team with Jian Liu of PoloarOnyx as both of our companies have strong connections to California. We had eight meetings that took us to both the House and the Senate throughout the day to meet with not only key Capitol Hill staff but with the Senators and Representatives themselves. Rep. Mike Honda, who represents part of California’s Silicon Valley, and his staffer, a former OSA Congressional fellow, were especially curious about optical technologies. We had a lengthy discussion with the Congressman on how to most effectively communicate and develop a message that will be heard and acted upon by Members of Congress. During our meetings, I brought an actual photonic integrated circuit developed by OneChip Photonics, and I explained how the technology in the tiny device could help accelerate the high-speed broadband market in the U.S. We also explained how American leadership in innovation and technology was owed to the federal investments in science and technology programs. The day’s meetings resulted in the establishment of key relationships on Capitol Hill and offers from numerous key policymakers to maintain a continuing dialogue in which the feedback, guidance and advice of the science community is sought after and a welcome addition to the debate in the halls of Congress.

I encourage all of you to take time to arrange meetings with your legislators - whether in DC or while they are home in your state - or invite policy makers out to your facility to see your work first-hand. Laura Kolton, Director of Public Policy at OSA, can help arrange for these meetings. She can be reached atlkolto@osa.org.

Group shot outside OSA before the day begins

PUBLICATIONS

Report on Aggregation Networks and Data Centers Now Available!
The OIDA workshop on metrics for data centers—collocated at OFC 2012 on March 4—was overflowing with participants hearing about issues and metrics addressing the scaling challenge of modern data centers. It is the first effort in the industry that aims to quantify specific metrics to address this challenge, with projections stretching to 2022. 

Conventional data centers route most traffic “North-South”; that is, into and out of the data center, for applications such as database access. Expansion is done by “scaling up” the overall hierarchy. New, modern data centers route most traffic “East-West” among servers, for doing search and other complex operations. Expansion is done by “scaling out” across the server layer, but the massive number of interconnections among servers with current technology eventually becomes unmanageable. Solving this scaling challenge requires new architectures and technologies, including new optical interconnects that are not yet commercialized. 

The key constraint in scaling the interconnects is the energy efficiency. If future data centers are to remain at a realistic size and cost, then the interconnects have to carry more bandwidth at the same cost and less power. Optical interconnects offer the best long-term strategy to achieve this, but the technology is not mature. Optics will eventually have to move inside the server rack, onto the board and even perhaps the chip. While this is a formidable technical challenge, the controlled data center environment does offers relief from expensive Telcordia qualifications required for telecom systems. 

The workshop report documents key points and projections toward meeting this challenge. At this early stage, the specific metrics are relatively simplistic. A next step could include development of more sophisticated metrics based on reference models, such as through R&D done at CIAN—the Center for Integrated Access Networks. OIDA/OSA partnered with CIAN and NSF on the workshop.

NEW FREE VIDEO DOWNLOADS!

Biophotonics Session Videos are Now Available! 
View video recordings and the individual slide presentations from the OIDA-hosted “Growth Opportunities for Photonics Companies in Healthcare” session which took place at the Biomedical Optics and 3D Congress in Miami, FL. 

Special thanks to OIDA member company Hamamatsu for their generous support of this event.

MEMBER DIRECTORY

Please join us in welcoming Luxtera and YY Labs to the OIDA membership.

Please visit the Member Directory for a full listing of OIDA members.

GOVERNMENT NEWS

The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2013 proposes a $1 billion, one-time investment by NIST to create the new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The Network will be a collaboration involving the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, and NSF. The Network requires Congressional authorization. The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to develop and enact the required legislation. Further details can be found here.