In a breakthrough discovery that addresses the high power consumption and slow speed in conventional silicon chips, researchers at the University of Utah's electric and computer engineering department, led by associate professor Rajesh Menon, developed an invisible cloaking device that solves a proximity related complication in microscopic photonic integrated devices.
Photonic computer chips are different from silicon chips as the former run on light and replace electrons or electrical current. Use of light makes these futuristic chips smaller, faster and modest in power consumption.
"The principle we are using is similar to that of the Harry Potter invisibility cloak," Menon added.
The details have been published in the journal, Nature Communications. The co-authors are Bing Shen, a doctoral student of University of Utah, and Randy Polson, a senior optical engineer in the University of Utah's Nanofab .
Photonic Chips As Future Of Computers
As far as the future of computers, mobile devices, and data centers is concerned, they are intertwined with photonic chips. Already, photonic chips have scored over silicon chips with their proven high speed, less power consumption, and lower heat generation.
Photonic chips contain billions of photonic devices just as millions of transistors inside the silicon chips
Problem Of Proximity Solved
The invisibility cloak was devised by Menon and his team as they wanted to address a problem that emanated from the proximity of two photonic devices. The closeness often rendered the devices non-functional because of light leakage as in radio interference.
To address this, they developed a nano-patterned barrier to be wedged between the photonic devices for acting like a "cloak" by blocking one from the other one.
In short, a buffer was put in place that pushes back the light into the original device by creating the perception that there is nothing on the other side.
The advantages of photonic chips are too many. Since photonic chips use light photons instead of electrons, there is no risk of heat being generated and consumption of electricity is also less. That translates into a major gain for data centers where a huge amount of electricity is required.
Currently, photonic devices are used mostly in high-end military equipment. However, Menon is optimistic that photonic-based chips will soon takeover data centers.
Silicon photonics will make a multibillion-dollar market by 2025 thanks to the surging applications in datacenters and in other fields, according to market research.
Two applications that will drive the silicon photonics market will be the integration of optical functions and miniaturization. They will include applications such as lidars in self-driving cars and biochemical sensors.
Demand will soar as data transporting with existing technologies is on a phase-out level with photons replacing electrons in the networks.
According to a market research report by Yole Développement (Yole), titled "Silicon Photonics for datacenters and other applications" the current silicon photonics market is below $40 million as of 2015. Some main players in the market include Luxtera, Intel, Acacia, Mellanox, Cisco STMicroelectronics, and Molex.
The report affirms that the silicon photonics market is at a tripping point with companies like Facebook and Microsoft at the frontline in pushing the technology.
