Researchers have demonstrated a new photonic computer chip that uses light for processing and can handle real-world computer workloads at revolutionary speeds and energy efficiency. The chip, described in the journal Nature, combines the use of light and electricity to increase computational performance while reducing energy consumption compared with conventional electronic chips. The photonic processor performs 65.5 trillion adaptive block floating-point 16-bit operations per second, consuming only 78 watts of electrical power and 1.6 watts of optical power.
This integration level represents the highest yet achieved in photonic processing. In the study, the chip was used to power a variety of currently-available state-of-the-art AI systems such as the natural language processing model BERT and a neural network called ResNet at parity with the best conventional silicon closed-circuit chips. The photonic processor has a range of applications, including generating Shakespeare-like text, accurately classifying movie reviews, and playing classic Atari computer games such as Pac-Man.
Photonic computing has been in the making for decades, but these demonstrations might mean that we are finally about to harness the power of light to build more-powerful and energy-efficient computing systems,” notes Anthony Rizzo at Dartmouth College in a commentary piece released alongside the studies. The photonic processors were built in an existing facility for microprocessor manufacture and with the same machines.
Light enhances computing performance
They fit into a normal motherboard, demonstrating that this is a technology that could be available in years rather than decades. Nick Harris, Co-founder and CEO of the tech firm behind the chip, called it a “technology marvel” that stands to change the future of computing. For the first time in computing history, we’ve demonstrated a non-transistor-based technology capable of running complex, real-world workloads with accuracy and efficiency comparable to existing electronic systems,” said Harris.
The processor was built using only monochromatic light in a single spatial waveguide mode, leaving plenty of room for future improvements that could use many frequency and spatial modes in parallel. As Harris points out, several other existing futures of computing are currently being investigated and developed, including quantum computing, computing systems based on DNA-RNA interactions, human neurology, and traditional processors using carbon nanotubes rather than silicon. The invention of the integrated circuit, the microprocessor, or the transistor itself—none of these innovations immediately replaced their predecessors, but each fundamentally changed what was achievable,” Harris writes.
“We’ve demonstrated that computing’s next chapter need not remain bound by transistor limitations. For an industry accustomed to continual reinvention, photonics represents an exciting and necessary new frontier.”
Image Credits: Photo by Vishnu Mohanan on Unsplash
Noah Nguyen is a multi-talented developer who brings a unique perspective to his craft. Initially a creative writing professor, he turned to Dev work for the ability to work remotely. He now lives in Seattle, spending time hiking and drinking craft beer with his fiancee.
