Breakthroughs in photonic computing promise to revolutionize computing power and energy efficiency, with light-based computers on the verge of mainstream adoption.
Light-based Computers: A Breakthrough in Computing Power and Energy Efficiency
Computers that use photons rather than electrons to manipulate data promise greater speed and energy efficiency, and the technology is developing rapidly. Researchers have made significant breakthroughs in running real-world problems on light-based computers, making the technology on the verge of commercial application.
Light-based computers utilize photons to process information, offering faster and more energy-efficient computing.
This technology has been explored since the 1990s, with researchers developing optical interconnects and photonic integrated circuits.
In 2013, a team from the University of California demonstrated a light-based computer that processed data at speeds of up to 300 gigahertz.
While still in its infancy, light-based computing holds promise for future high-performance applications.
The Limitations of Traditional Computing
Electronic computers, like those we all use today, historically followed Moore’s Law: the power of machines doubled every two years. However, progress has slowed as the miniaturisation of transistors hit fundamental physical limits. This has led researchers to explore alternative technologies, such as photonic computing.
Photonic Computing: A New Frontier
Photonic computers offer huge potential advantages over electronic computers. Because photons move faster than electrons do in a circuit, they could speed up calculations and reduce the pauses between each step of a calculation. Additionally, photons move without resistance and are rarely absorbed by the material the chips are made of, making them a more energy-efficient option.
Photonic computing harnesses light to process data, offering faster speeds and lower power consumption compared to traditional electronics.
This emerging technology relies on photons instead of electrons to transmit information, enabling higher bandwidth and reduced latency.
Researchers are exploring photonic integrated circuits, which integrate multiple components onto a single chip, enhancing processing efficiency and reducing costs.
Photonic computing has vast applications in fields like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-performance computing.
Real-World Applications
Lightelligence, a Singapore-based company, has shown that its device, called a photonic arithmetic computing engine (PACE), can successfully run Ising problems, which have direct applications to the logistics industry and many other areas. Meanwhile, US start-up Lightmatter claims its own chip, Envise, can run the AI model BERT to create text in the style of Shakespeare with an accuracy rate similar to that of conventional electronic processors.
Light matter refers to the interaction between light and physical objects.
It encompasses various phenomena, including reflection, refraction, absorption, and scattering of 'light' by matter.
This concept plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of light and its applications in fields like optics, photonics, and materials science.
According to quantum mechanics, light can exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties when interacting with matter.
The Future of Photonic Computing
The field is increasingly busy with start-ups, and the technology is rapidly maturing. Researchers are focused on demonstrating photonic advantage, which could lead to significant improvements in computing power and energy efficiency. While it’s unclear when this technology will be ready for commercial applications, experts believe that it has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach computing.
Scaling Up for Mass Production
The hardware used in Lightelligence‘s research is made in a PCI Express format, which allows it to be easily integrated into existing desktop computers. This makes it possible for photonic chips to be scaled up for mass production and integrated into commercial applications. According to Robert Hadfield at the University of Glasgow, ‘It’s close to a point where the industry may consider photonic processors as a viable alternative.‘
- newscientist.com | Light based computers are getting close to a commercial launch
