Monday 17 November 2014

All - Optical Transistor

Here Comes An All-Optical Transistor!

This could be duly thought of as a switch that is turned active (on) using a single photon (light molecule).

With the recent invention of MIT engineers, electricity power can be duly replaced by the power of light. They have succeeded in making a transistor that will use light instead of electricity for power and perform similar computing processes. This could be duly thought of as a switch that is turned active (on) by a single photon (light molecule).

According to the researchers, this breakthrough in the technology means that an entirely new platform for quantum and classical design could be achieved and this will be able to operate at an exponentially faster speed than traditional computers.

The latest issue of ‘Science’, the official MIT journal, describes this creation as an experimental light switch that could be controlled by a single photon, where the transmission of light could be governed with light.

The action by the photons modify each other’s behavior which is not a natural phenomenon of light element. When two photons collide against each other in a vacuum space, they simply pass through. The transistor is required to build a pair of mirrors with high reflective capacities. When the switch is turned on, the light beams will be able to pass through both the mirror but when turned off, more than 80 per cent of the light is reflected back. The arrangement of the mirrors has been called optical resonator and when adjusted to the perfect wavelength and distance, they become transparent to light.

The research team believes that such a invention would help reduce power consumption along with faster computing speeds.


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Article by
ECE Department
Stanley College of Engineering & Technology for Women

Stanley College of Engineering & Technology for Women

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