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Intel Announces Lasers On a Chip

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the photonics-awakes dept.

wonkavader writes, "The New York Times reports that 'Researchers plan to announce on Monday that they have created a silicon-based chip that can produce laser beams. The advance will make it possible to use laser light rather than wires to send data between chips, removing the most significant bottleneck in computer design.' The work is from Intel and the University of California, Santa Barbara. This suggests breakthroughs in both computing performance and networking." From the article: "The breakthrough was achieved by bonding a layer of light-emitting indium phosphide onto the surface of a standard silicon chip etched with special channels that act as light-wave guides. The resulting sandwich has the potential to create on a computer chip hundreds and possibly thousands of tiny, bright lasers that can be switched on and off billions of times a second." Further details in the Intel press release.

17 of 244 comments (clear)

  1. Shark implants . . . by base3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    . . . to be announced shortly.

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    One CPU cycle wasted on digital restrictions management is ONE TOO MANY.
    1. Re:Shark implants . . . by kabz · · Score: 3, Funny

      Let's hope they don't try this method with LCD displays ...

      Man 1: "Crank the brightness up on the laptop."
      Man 2: "Arrrggghhh, my eyes !!!!!"

      --
      -- "It's not stalking if you're married!" My Wife.
  2. Tron by pythiane · · Score: 5, Funny

    And Tron is yet another step closer to fact.

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    Log Buffer
  3. All posters referencing Austin Powers owe me $1. by numbski · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'm gonna be rich! w00t!

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    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  4. There goes the industry . . . by dmatos · · Score: 5, Funny

    For blue LEDs used by case modders. Why bother when the chips are flashing all by themselves.

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    It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away.
    --Scott Adams
    1. Re:There goes the industry . . . by sl3xd · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can see it now:
      * Blinky new CPU: $1000.00
      * Transparent heatsink made of Aluminum oxynitride: $5,000.00
      * Being the 1337357 h4x0r in the whole basement: Priceless.

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      -- Sometimes you have to turn the lights off in order to see.
  5. Go Intel! by Cybert4 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Great company. Real solid and with great integrity. I'm sure they'll put lasers to great use. Yes, x86 is horrible, but that too will pass.

  6. Safe? by pafmax · · Score: 5, Funny

    The future of IM:
    - Hey look at what I'm sending you!
    - ARGH! MY EYES!!!

    Seriously, are these lasers safe?

    1. Re:Safe? by reverseengineer · · Score: 5, Funny
      The future of IM:
      - Hey look at what I'm sending you!
      - ARGH! MY EYES!!!

      That's pretty much what IM is like now.

      --
      "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
    2. Re:Safe? by vmxeo · · Score: 2, Funny

      WARNING: Do not look at laser chip with remaining eye

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      Shameless plug for my photos on Flickr
  7. Re:Fa-ricken Layz0rs! by rbarreira · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't want any lasers on my annals, that's for sure!

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    The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
  8. Re:New Techniques... by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 2, Funny
    Great things are going on in my mind.
    It's like a laser.
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    There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
  9. Re:The computer science effect. by Apocalypse111 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Enough with the sharks.

    You're right of course. We can't get the sharks anyways. We do, however, have some ill-tempered sea-bass...

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  10. Re:A huge advance? by jimstapleton · · Score: 3, Funny
    i
    a m
    d u m b
    You can make anything from a quote when you only read parts of it...

    Example, you just said you were dumb. Each of those letters *was* in your post...

    Please read the rest before commenting on something that has been shown to be incorrect. Don't just read parts.
    --
    34486853790
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  11. Re:The computer science effect. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    mutant ill-tempered sea bass!

    *checks post anonymously to avoid ruining my excellent karma.*

  12. Re:I have questions about the usefulness of this by Slicebo · · Score: 2, Funny

    "At the distances they're talking, does coherence . . . matter?"

    You're posting to **Slashdot**. You gotta know the answer to this one.

  13. Re:About time by KDR_11k · · Score: 5, Funny

    There's a flaw with using lasers for integral schemes: they go in a straight direction, wires can "steer" and form more complex patterns. Of course lasers can also cross each other and wires can't.

    May I introduce you to a groundbreaking new technology called "glass fibres"?

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.