KIOXIA America, Inc. will showcase a prototype broadband SSD with an optical interface for next-generation data centers at the FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage conference, being held in Santa Clara, California from August 6 to August 8. By replacing the electrical wiring interface with an optical interface, this SSD technology allows for greater physical distance between the compute and storage devices, slims down wiring and delivers high flexibility to data center system designs and applications—all while maintaining energy efficiency and high signal quality.

The adoption of an optical interface is a game-changer for system component aggregation, such as the seamless integration of SSDs and CPUs. It advances the concept of disaggregated computing systems, enabling more efficient resource utilization tailored to specific workloads. The high signal integrity offered by the optical interface is also expected to bolster high-performance computing (HPC) environments, benefiting supercomputers, cloud-based HPC services, and even space applications.

This breakthrough is a product of the Japanese Next Generation Green Data Center Technology Development Project, which is financially supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) under the Green Innovation Fund Project. The overarching goal of this initiative is to develop next-generation technologies aimed at achieving over 40% energy savings compared to current data centers.

Kioxia's involvement in this project has led to the development of broadband SSDs with optical interfaces, which are pivotal for the data storage component of green data centers. As the world increasingly demands more sustainable and efficient data management solutions, Kioxia's latest innovation stands at the forefront of this technological shift, promising a greener and more powerful future for data centers globally.