PsiQuantum has disclosed an optical circuit switching (OCS) technology built on its low-loss silicon photonics platform, and it’s starting with an 8×8-radix demonstration vehicle aimed at AI-scale networking constraints.

The 8×8 OCS demo is based on the same silicon photonics platform PsiQuantum has been developing for nearly a decade for utility-scale quantum computing. In lab testing, the company reports typical performance of 1.2 dB insertion loss, 40 dB crosstalk, and less than 3 ms reconfiguration time, and it notes the results were achieved without amplification.

For data center designers, the key takeaway is the combination of low insertion loss and millisecond-level switching. In practice, insertion loss directly impacts optical power budgets and, by extension, how far you can push link margins and cabling topologies without resorting to extra amplification. And while OCS isn’t a drop-in replacement for packet switching, fast reconfiguration is a requirement if you want circuit switching to be relevant to dynamic AI fabrics rather than only to static, scheduled paths.

PsiQuantum says it is sharing samples of the demonstration vehicle with select prospective customers and plans to advance the platform toward commercial products that it says will be disclosed in the coming months.

“As AI computing pushes infrastructure to its limits, we now have an opportunity to put our state-of-the-art technology to work today while continuing toward our ultimate goal: building and deploying the world’s first useful, fault-tolerant quantum computers,” said Victor Peng, CEO of PsiQuantum. Rob Soderbery, executive vice president at PsiQuantum, added: “What we are demonstrating today is that this platform can deliver exceptional performance for optical circuit switching for AI computing.”

PsiQuantum also said it has developed barium titanate (BTO) integration at the 300 mm wafer scale and uses a 64×64 BTO switch in its quantum systems. The company said BTO is not required for the 8×8 demonstration vehicle or its initial OCS products.

Source: PsiQuantum