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Production of Photon Processors Expected in 2006

Posted by timothy on from the enlightening dept.

ThinSkin writes "Photon processors that transmit data via light, not electrons, are slated to enter production in mid-2006, ExtremeTech reports. Headed by a UCLA professor and a Nobel Prize winner, startup Luxtera claims that its optical modulator clocks in at 10-GHz, tens times that of Intel's optical modulator researchers talked about last year. Since the optical module exists as its own entity, it will require a standard CMOS processes to integrate the optical waveguides. Luxtera has worked closely with Freescale Semiconductor to develop this technology."

2 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How long until... by Rei · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, it is a multiplier, even if it's not the only factor...

    Of course, it just amazes me to think about. With a main clock cycle of 10 billion cycles per second, there would actually be fractional cycles going on at hundreds of billions of cycles per second. The number is staggering; a couple hundred billion times the width of the outer layer of your skin would reach to the moon. The photons will travel through hundreds of thousands of hand-designed gates at the tiniest of scales.

    And, of course, the most common usage for this marvel of modern engineering will be to provide better lighting effects in video games. :P

    --
    I once listened to a Philip Glass record for an hour and a half before I realized it was skipping.
  2. Just a modulator by Laaserboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From the Article:

    The company claims that its optical modulator for transforming electrons into photons runs at 10-GHz

    I may not have a Nobel Prize, but I do have a Ph.D. in physics. Electrons do not tranform into photons. They may produce photons, but not turn into them.

    I see these articles that claim the creation of optical processors. But read the article, and all the researchers have to do is add a silicon processor and BOOM, we have an optical processor. It's not that easy.

    I remember the researcher who created an optical computer that was the size of a room. Why is this? Electrons are small. They bend around corners. They stay put. They move when you want them to. Photons do not bend well around small corners, do not support CMOS-like circuits and generally fail at most tasks of that versatile, tiny doer of great deeds, the electron.

    As usual, it's just an optical modulator. Boring old modulator.