Optoelectronic microprocessors built using existing chip manufacturing

Optical communication could dramatically reduce chips' power consumption, which is not only desirable in its own right but essential to maintaining the steady increases in computing power that we've come to expect. Demonstrating that optical chips can be built with no alteration to existing semiconductor manufacturing processes should make optical communication more attractive to the computer industry.

The Laser Focus World take:

Integrated photonics devices promise many cost and efficiency benefits and have fostered research at many universities and labs around the world. This development by researchers at MIT, University of Colorado, and UC Berkeley is a significant advance and worth noting, especially since the universities are members of the AIM Photonics consortium and the manufacturing process could potentially be replicated in high volume at the GlobalFoundries fab near Albany, NY, and the prototyping facilities at SUNY Polytechic Institute in Albany.

Related:Silicon photonics evolve to meet real-world requirements

Related: Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar, where Michael Liehr, CEO of AIM Photonics will give the keynote talk.

Related: New York-led consortium wins integrated photonics institute award

Related:AIM Photonics

By Conard Holton
Laser Focus World