Can optical interconnects replace electrical interconnects like USB, PCIe, SATA etc?

[fiberoptics]

Optical fiber cables have a really good bandwidth and are way better than electrical cables. Do you think it's possible in the near future for all these electrical standards like USB, PCIe, SATA etc. to be replaced by optical standards and cables?

[difinity]

No, maybe some will be, but due to price, size and simplicity of some of the connectors and the lack of need for bandwidth for some devices I doubt all will be replaced by optical.

[Arthur]

Do you think it's possible in the near future for all these electrical standards like USB, PCIe, SATA etc. to be replaced by optical standards and cables?

Thunderbolt optical cables already exist and support the protocols you mentioned. They are a bit expensive however.

 

If Intel makes good progress with their silicon photonics projects I could imagine we'll have x86 servers in the next 10-15 years that use light to transfer data between themselves and potentially the CPUs, memory and disks within each server.

 

www.computerworld.com/article/2879077/servers/intel-delays-part-for-high-speed-silicon-photonic-networking.html

 

Data can be transferred more quickly via photons of light and optical cables than using electrical signals over a copper wire. Intel says its optical system can transfer data at 100 Gbps (bits per second), and much faster in the future.

 

Servers that support silicon photonics will have special MXC connectors in which fiber optic cables are plugged. One MXC connection, which combines multiple silicon modules, could eventually transfer data at up to 1.6Tbps (terabytes per second), or 800Gbps in each direction.

 

Server makers Fujitsu and Quanta have shown servers that use light as a data transfer mechanism. Intel has also developed new protocols, like O-PCI (Optical PCI-Express), to support such data transfers. Intel is developing the silicon modules while partners developing the fiber optics.

 

[...]

 

The delay holds back Intel's plans to bring large-scale changes to the data center. It's making optical communication a centerpiece of its effort to decouple the major system components, including CPU, storage, memory, into discrete building blocks. That could help reduce cooling costs and improve performance in servers, it says.

 

Intel had planned to link storage and processing units using optical communications in a supercomputer due for release later this year. That could now be delayed until next year.

[PotNoodleTech]

No not really. Optical cables are ideal for use where distance is over 100metres and/or there is a large amount of electrical/magnetic interference present.

 

If one or both the above are not present, then there is no real need to use an optical cable.

 

Also, at high speed, the optical transmitters and receivers are prohibitively expensive for mass market stuff.

Edited April 27, 2016 by PotNoodleTech

[localzuk]

Quite simply, no, for one simple reason - power. If you remove the ability to power a device from its single connector, you reduce the convenience of that connectivity and the associated device. Sure, optical connectivity may augment some standards, but not replace them. Also, in terms of resilience, optical cables are not as long lasting

 

Internally? Sure, optical connectivity through photonics is on its way already, but is a long way off.