Microchip

Sierra Monolithics Inc.

of California and the IBM Corporation have teamed up to work on developing optical microchip devices. From the beginning of 2001, the two companies have spent more than $14 million on the research and development of microchip devices that bridge the gap between conventional semiconductor technologies and optical fiber communication networks. It is anticipated that the optical microchips being developed will be capable of operation in 40 gigabit networks.