What the HC-1 power sweep actually says.

Power claims around new compute architectures get vague quickly. HC-1 now has a cleaner reference point: a validated optical-launch setting, a practical engineering range for the full system, and a sweep showing how recovery behaves as launch power is pushed down.

At the current operating point, the validation stack corresponds to 51.2 W of nominal optical launch. That number is useful because it ties the recovery result to a named operating condition instead of leaving power as a loose claim.

The sweep gives the program a working power anchor: 51.2 W of nominal optical launch and a 300-500 W class full-system estimate.

What changes as launch power falls

The sweep holds the recovery stack fixed and lowers launch power. As expected, the current recovery behavior is strongest at the validated operating point. Lower-power settings are useful stress tests. They show where the current stack has margin and where further optimization would be needed.

That is the right kind of result at this stage. The sweep gives the team a present passing point, a set of lower-power stress points, and a way to decide where packaging, laser, readout, and recovery work should focus next.

What 51.2 W means

The 51.2 W figure describes optical launch. Full wall-plug system power depends on laser efficiency, driver overhead, readout electronics, conversion, clocking, regulation, thermal control, and packaging choices.

The current full-system figure is therefore an engineering range. The present architecture is estimated in the 300-500 W class, pending silicon measurement and final package closure. That is the practical point: HC-1 is being evaluated against a concrete system-power target.

What the sweep establishes

The sweep anchors the current recovery result to a named operating point, shows the degradation path under lower launch power, and gives the program a concrete reference for package, board, readout, and manufacturable-PDK planning.

That makes the result simple to use in diligence conversations: the present validation stack has a named optical-launch point, a realistic full-system power class, and a clear path for the next round of closure work.