Primarion, optical interconnects get lift

Primarion, a start-up optical-chip company, got a shot in the arm this week. The company, which manufactures chips and licenses technology that allow for short-range, low-power optical communication between computers and chips, recently received $47 million in venture capital funding. The company plans to announce the capital infusion Tuesday, a representative said. Primarion believes its technologies will be key in helping develop computers with optical interconnects. Optical interconnects, researchers have said, have the potential to replace the metal wires used today to transfer data inside computers. Primarion ultimately wants to see its technology used inside chips to link transistors. Optical interconnects inside chips could cut power consumption and increase speed, the company said. Cost, however, will be a major barrier to adoption of optical interconnects, as it costs less to use copper wires to create links between chips.