Optical Computing

A powerful new optical chip can process almost two billion images per second. The device is made up of a neural network that processes information as light without needing components that slow down traditional computer chips, like memory.

Researchers have now developed the fastest logic gates ever created, by zapping graphene and gold with laser pulses. The new logic gates are a million times faster than those in existing computers, demonstrating the viability of “lightwave electronics.”

Researchers at ETH Zurich claim to have created both the world's smallest optical switch using a single atom, and accompanying circuitry that is smaller than the wavelength of the light that passes through it.

Researchers have created a new non-volatile optical memory which could significantly improve computer processing speeds and energy consumption.

Photonic CPUs could potentially process information at the speed of light – millions of times faster than standard computers available today. University of Utah engineers have moved that possibility one step closer with the claimed creation of the world's smallest silicon photonics beamsplitter

Instead of storing a 3D image in a photographic plate, researchers at Purdue University have developed a novel hologram which stores a 3D image in a thin gold film containing thousands of V-shaped nanoantennas, shrinking the hologram and enabling a host of new applications.

A team of international researchers has developed artificial crystals with unique optical properties that could lead to advances in quantum computing and telecommunications. Their inspiration? The glorious green wings of the Callophyrs Rubi butterfly.

IBM has announced a key advance in its silicon nanophotonics technology, which integrates optical and electrical circuits side-by-side on the same chip.

Researchers have designed coupled lasers that act as general-purpose optical logic gates.

IBM has created an optical chip that is capable of transferring one trillion bits of data per second.

A "passive optical diode" developed at Purdue University could make for faster and more secure information processing and more powerful supercomputers.

A potentially game-changing property of the exotic man-made substances known as metamaterials could be a breakthrough for telecommunications.