Light can drive faster computing in future

Advertisement
By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 5 April 2013 16:33 IST
Light can drive faster computing in future
Cell phones and laptops, powered by increasingly faster and tinier processors, are becoming sleeker and lighter.

Now, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) say light beams shrunk to a few nanometres can drive much faster computing.

Light carries greater amounts of data more efficiently than electrical signals through copper wires. The current technology is increasingly based on optics. The world is already connected by thousands of miles of optical-fiber cables that deliver email, images, and the latest video gone viral to your laptop.

As we all produce and consume more data, computers and communication networks must be able to handle the deluge of information. Focusing light into tinier spaces can squeeze more data through optical fibres and increase bandwidth, the journal Nature Photonics reports.

Moreover, by being able to control light at such small scales, optical devices can also be made more compact, requiring less energy to power them, according to a Caltech statement.

Advertisement

But focusing light to such minute scales is inherently difficult.

Once you reach sizes smaller than the wavelength of light -- a few hundred nanometers in the case of visible light -- you reach what's called the diffraction limit, and it's physically impossible to focus light any further.

Advertisement

But now, Caltech researchers, co-led by assistant professor of electrical engineering Hyuck Choo, have built a new kind of waveguide -- a tunnel-like device that channels light -- that gets around this natural limit.

Because the new device is built on a semiconductor chip with standard nanofabrication techniques, says Choo, study co-author, it is easy to integrate with today's technology.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition Review: A Premium All-Rounder with a Few Rough Edges
  2. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Price Lowered on Amazon
  3. Nothing Phone 3 Surfaces on Walmart Website Which Reaffirms Its US Launch
  1. NASA Chandra Spots Distant X-Ray Jet; Telescope Faces Major Budget Cuts
  2. JWST Reveals Pluto’s Haze Cools Atmosphere, Paints Charon’s Poles Red
  3. Earth’s Oceans Enter Danger Zone Due to Rising Acidification, New Study Warns
  4. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24 Price Lowered on Amazon With Discounts, Cashback Offers
  5. Maryade Prashne Now Streaming on SunNXT: Everything You Need to Know
  6. Good Wife OTT Release: When and Where to Watch Tamil Legal Drama Online?
  7. Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 Update for Pixel Reportedly Brings New Launch Animation for Gemini Overlay
  8. Jinn - The Pet OTT Release Date: When and Where to Where to Watch Tamil Horror-Comedy Online?
  9. DD Next Level Now Streaming: Know Where to Watch This Tamil Horror-Comedy
  10. Nothing Phone 3 Listed on Walmart Website, Reaffirming Its Launch in the US
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.