First-of-a-kind electro-optical device provides solution to faster and more energy efficient computing memories and processors - exeter.ac.uk
Optical Computers

What are Optical Computers?
The computers we use today use transistors and semiconductors to control electricity. Computers of the future may utilize crystals and metamaterials to control light. Optical computers make use of light particles called photons.
Image source: Wikimedia
NASA scientists are working to solve the need for computer speed using light
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. That's 982,080,000 feet per second -- or 11,784,960,000 inches. In a billionth of a second, one nanosecond, photons of light travel just a bit less than a foot, not considering resistance in air or of an optical fiber strand or thin film. Just right for doing things very quickly in microminiaturized computer chips.

Dr. Donald Frazier monitors a blue laser light used with electro-optical materials
"Entirely optical computers are still some time in the future," says Dr. Frazier, "but electro-optical hybrids have been possible since 1978, when it was learned that photons can respond to electrons through media such as lithium niobate. Newer advances have produced a variety of thin films and optical fibers that make optical interconnections and devices practical. We are focusing on thin films made of organic molecules, which are more light sensitive than inorganics.
Organics can perform functions such as switching, signal processing and frequency doubling using less power than inorganics. Inorganics such as silicon used with organic materials let us use both photons and electrons in current hybrid systems, which will eventually lead to all-optical computer systems."
"What we are accomplishing in the lab today will result in development of super-fast, super-miniaturized, super-lightweight and lower cost optical computing and optical communication devices and systems," Frazier explained.
Article and image from: Science@NASA
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VUB researchers shrink optical computer - bits-chips.nl
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Boosting light-based computing - University of Twente
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Researches Develop Novel Technique for Light-Based Computers - Morgan Newspaper
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Stanford engineers create new AI camera for faster, more efficient image classification - Stanford University
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Optical computing nanoantenna arrays - Electro Pages
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Squeezing light into a tiny channel brings optical computing a step closer - Imperial College London - 11/17
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New Photonic Synapses Mimic the Brain and Compute With Light - Singularity Hub - 10/17
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Photonic chips turn lightning into thunder - Cosmos - 09/17
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Photons direct photons, giving hope for all-optical quantum logic - Ars Technica - 08/17
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The Australian Device That Could Transform Console Gaming - Kotaku - 07/17
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Optical computers may have finally found a use—improving artificial intelligence - Scientific American - 07/17
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MIT Demos Optical Deep Learning with Nanophotonic Processor - Top500 - 06/17
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Nano-holes punch a path to photonic computing - Cosmos - 04/17
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Computers 100,000 times faster than current machines - Engadget - 03/17
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New Chip Marks a Milestone in Optical Computing - IEEE Spectrum - 01/17
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Nanoantenna Changes Direction of Light and the Prospects of Optical Computing - IEEE Spectrum - 11/16
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Optalysys GENESYS Optical Co-Processor Announced - PC Perspective - 11/16
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Computing with Lasers Could Power Up Genomics and AI - MIT Technology Review - 10/16
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New Computer Combines Optical and Electronic Processing - ENGINEERING.com - 10/16
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Silicon nanoparticles trained to juggle light - Science Daily - 08/16
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Can optical technology solve the high performance computing energy conundrum? - New Electronics - 04/16
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Here’s why we don’t have light-based computing just yet - ExtremeTech - 02/16
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Optalysys Optical Computing - Explained by Professor Heinz Wolff - Youtube - 07/14
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All-optical transistor could be a big leap for quantum computing - New Atlas - 07/13
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Silicon Integrated Nanophotonics - IBM - 12/12
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Holey Optochip! The One-Trillion-Bits-Per-Second Chip is Here - PopSci - 03/12
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Intel Turns to Light to Transfer Data Inside PCs - PC World - 07/10
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Scientists Move Optical Computing Closer to Reality - Phys.Org - 07/08
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Creating Faster Integrated Circuits by Slowing Light - Phys.Org - 04/08
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Optical Computer Web Sites
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Optical computers (PDF) - UNC Wilmington
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Optical computing - Canon
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Optical computing - Wikipedia
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Optical Computing Technology - SlideShare
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References
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Optical Computer and Photonics Articles
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