MIT Researchers Build All-Optical Transistors
Engineers at MIT have succeeded in developing an all-optical transistor that uses light instead of electricity to perform computing. Think of it as a switch that can be turned on by a single photon (which is the basic element of light). Researchers say that this could lead to an entirely new design of classical and quantum computers that operate at speeds exponentially faster than traditional computers.
The latest issue of the journal 'Science', the MIT engineering team describes the creation of experimental light switch controlled by single photon which allows governing the transmission of light with light. This requires photons to modify each other's behaviour, which they naturally avoid doing. Two photons colliding with each other in vacuum would simply pass through each other.
The research team built a pair of highly reflective mirrors. The beam of light can pass through both these mirrors when the switch is on and about 80% of it reflects when the switch is turned off. The assembly of two mirrors is known as optical resonator. The distance between the mirrors, when adjusted to the wavelength of the light; the mirrors become transparent to the right wavelength.
The team believes that this approach to quantum computing would lead to significantly lesser energy consumptions while offering much higher speed of operations.
The details of the research can be obtained on the source link below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
The latest issue of the journal 'Science', the MIT engineering team describes the creation of experimental light switch controlled by single photon which allows governing the transmission of light with light. This requires photons to modify each other's behaviour, which they naturally avoid doing. Two photons colliding with each other in vacuum would simply pass through each other.
The research team built a pair of highly reflective mirrors. The beam of light can pass through both these mirrors when the switch is on and about 80% of it reflects when the switch is turned off. The assembly of two mirrors is known as optical resonator. The distance between the mirrors, when adjusted to the wavelength of the light; the mirrors become transparent to the right wavelength.
The team believes that this approach to quantum computing would lead to significantly lesser energy consumptions while offering much higher speed of operations.
The details of the research can be obtained on the source link below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
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