Computers that use photons rather than electrons to manipulate data promise greater speed and energy efficiency, and the technology is developing rapidly
PACE, a light-based computer chip made by Lightelligence Lightelligence Computers that use light rather than electricity to represent and manipulate data could slash the power demands of data centres and simultaneously speed up calculations. Two studies published today describe breakthroughs in running real-world problems on light-based computers, making the technology on the verge of commercial application, say researchers. Electronic computers, like those we all use today, historically followed Moore's Law: the power of machines doubled every two years. But in recent years, progress has slowed as the miniaturisation of transistors hit fundamental physical limits. Advertisement Researchers are working on numerous potential solutions, including quantum computing and photonic computing. But while quantum computing still struggles to achieve true usefulness, photonic computing has now reached a point where chip designs, such as those set out in the two new studies, are performing genuine calculations. On top of that, the same factories that manufacture silicon chips for electronic computers can be used to fabricate these photonic chips. Photonic computers offer huge potential advantages over electronic computers. For one, because photons move faster than electrons do in a circuit, they could speed up calculations and also reduce the pauses between each step of a calculation. Secondly, because photons move without resistance and are…