A new optical device is allowing researchers to manipulate and change the frequencies of individual photons in a stream of light to any mix of colors. Its new photonic architecture could ultimately transform digital communications, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge quantum computing.
Developed by researchers at Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA), the device’s architecture features a low-loss “wire” for light that carries photons to a series of rings, each touting a modulator that transforms the frequency of the passing photons—these are frequencies that our eyes see as color. According to the researchers, “there can be as many rings as necessary, and engineers can finely control the modulators to dial in the desired frequency transformation.”
The new device’s architecture can perform simple color transformations, as well as those that are more complex, all with fine control. For example, in the quantum world, a single photon can have multiple colors. The researchers say that “in that circumstance, the new device actually allows changing of the ratio of different colors for a single photon.”
Potential uses for the new device include developing optical neural networks for artificial intelligence, performing neural computations using light instead of electrons. According to the study, existing methods applied to optical neural networks do not actually change the frequencies of the photons, but simply reroute photons of a single frequency—“performing such neural computations through frequency manipulation could lead to much more compact devices.” The team notes that the device and its architecture are extremely versatile, which will allow engineers to control frequencies as well as proportions with extreme accuracy and make a wide variety of transformations possible. Reference: S. Buddhiraju et al., Nat. Commun. (2021); doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22670-7.
Justine Murphy | Multimedia Director, Digital Infrastructure
Justine Murphy is the multimedia director for Endeavor Business Media's Digital Infrastructure Group. She is a multiple award-winning writer and editor with more 20 years of experience in newspaper publishing as well as public relations, marketing, and communications. For nearly 10 years, she has covered all facets of the optics and photonics industry as an editor, writer, web news anchor, and podcast host for an internationally reaching magazine publishing company. Her work has earned accolades from the New England Press Association as well as the SIIA/Jesse H. Neal Awards. She received a B.A. from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.