IBM is together with Intel the driving force behind the use of optics inside and between circuits. There are some big advantages of using photons instead electrons, above all the fact that they don’t generate any heat, consume less power and travels faster. ZDnet has a report about a new breakthrough made by IBM. A lot of the previous research has been on controlling the flow of data in the right direction, but this progress is all about slowing down the light and therefore being able to control and synchronize the data transmitted by the light. This is really ‘just’ a sidestep from the previous research as it involves steering the light into a circle and then letting it continue at the right moment, instead of just letting it pass by. Extremely simplified that is.
