Light-based computers are getting closer to a commercial launch

Computers that use light instead of electricity to represent and manipulate data can reduce the power demands of data centers and also speed up calculations. Two studies published today describe successes in running real-based problems on light-based computers, which create technology on the verge of commercial application, say of researchers.

Electronic computers, such as we all use today, historically follow the rules of Moore: the power of the machines doubles every two years. But in recent years, progress has slowed down because the transistors’ shortage hits fundamental physical boundaries.

Researchers are working on several possible solutions including quantum computing and photonic computing. But when quantum computing still struggles to achieve true utility, photonic computing has now reached a point where chip design, such as two new studies, are acting, acting real calculations. At its top, similar factories that form silicone chips for electronic computers can be used to create these photonic chips.

Photonic computers provide huge potential benefits on electronic computers. For one, because photons move faster than electrons in a circuit, they can speed up calculations and also reduce the stagnation between each stage of calculation. Secondly, because photons move without resistance and are rarely absorbed by materials that are made of chips, they can do the same thing using less energy than electrical computers, which requires energy-intensive cooling.

A Singapore -based company, its study, shows that its device, called a photonic arithmetic computing engine (pace), connects a photonic chip and a microelectronic chip, successfully pursuing ising problems, which have direct applications for logistics industry and many other fields.

Meanwhile, the US Start-up Lightmater claims its own chip, envases, with the same accuracy rate with the same accuracy rate of traditional electronic processors, can run the AI ​​model Burt to create lessons in the style of Shakespeare. New scientist Was unable to reach the lightmater for comment.

Bo Peng The litterateur says that the region is rapidly busy with start-up and that the technology is becoming increasingly mature. “We are more or less in pre-production,” says Peng. “It is more like a real product, not just a laboratory display.”

The way the world of quantum computers is trying to showcase quantum gains – the point where a quantum machine can offer some useful offer that a classical computer cannot do – Peng says that it focuses on demonstrating photonic benefits. Although when it will happen, when it will happen, he says that the technique is close to getting ready for commercial applications – most likely that as a photonic chip that works with electric chips, to completely replace them, to handle specific tasks where it can provide a boost.

Apparently, the hardware on which the lightlegs is based is done in one PCI Express FormatThis is the standard motherboard add-on format for desktop computer that allows to add graphics cards or other devices. The company’s device can already be added to any commercial desktop – although the correct software will be required to communicate with it.

Robert Headfield At the University of Glasgow, Britain, two studies states that “this is an area that is going to boil”. “It is close to a point where the industry can consider photonic processor to be a viable option,” they say. “It is really interesting to see how mature this architecture has become.

Stephen SweenyAlso at the University of Glasgow, says that we have already seen optical data transmission worldwide with fiber optics, and this photonic computing is still close. “Photonics allows you to do things with high speed and low damage,” says Sweeni as you can do with electronics. ” “And if you need to be able to calculate a large amount, you have to start looking at it.”