With the expansion of data centers and the rise of generative AI, LLM, IoT, and video streaming services, the demand for advanced interconnections is greater than ever.
Conventional interconnects using copper have critical bandwidth limitations caused by the “skin effect”, where the current flowing through the cable is concentrated on the surface of the conductor. Optical interconnects, while offering high capacity over longer distances, require significant capital expenditures for the deployment of high-volume, short-range links.
Point2's E-Tube provides a low-cost, low-loss broadband dielectric waveguide solution that could serve as an advanced alternative to existing electrical and optical interconnects in high-speed, short-range communication links. It is 80% lighter and 50% less bulky than copper cables, and could reduce the power consumption and cost of optical cables by 50%, with picosecond latencies that are three orders of magnitude better.
New partners
Metal film laminated rectangular dielectric waveguide has been shown to achieve an impressive level of product performance, radius of curvature and channel density without requiring a complex manufacturing process. It can be deployed for cable speeds of 800G/1.6T/3.2T and more.
You may not have heard of it before, but that's about to change as Point2 recently announced its plans to partner with Bosch Venture (the venture capital arm of the Bosch Group) and Molex to commercialize its E-Tube technology, replacing electrical and optical interconnects in high-performance links, including (but not limited to) 100/400 Gbps board-to-board communications.
“The growing demand for network capacity in future automotive and AI/ML data center use cases requires a new approach to cable interconnection,” said Jairo Guerrero, vice president and general manager of Molex's Copper Solutions business. . “Point2 has developed an E-Tube platform that can adapt to the connectivity requirements of data centers and future automotive network architectures. “Partnering with Point2 to commercialize E-Tube is a natural fit for Molex’s connectivity business and helps position our company to better respond to growing customer demands.”
