The Light Stuff
Computing speed takes a giant leap forward thanks to a new photonics-based microchip
When it came to building a better microchip, Miloš Popovic and his fellow researchers turned to an unusual, but powerful, ally: light.
The groundbreaking result, which debuted in 2015 after nearly ten years of development, is the first microprocessor that uses light rather than electricity to communicate with the external world, all while transferring data at rapid speeds and consuming a minimal amount of energy.Ìý
The milestone could pave the way for faster, more powerful supercomputers, network infrastructure and consumer electronics within the next five years.
“Light-based integrated circuits could lead to radical changes in computing architecture in applicati