Is photonic computing and CPU chips the next big thing in the world of science, AI, laptops, server and smartphones?

Photonic (light-based) processors are used to create a computer chip that can perform calculations at high speeds and in a recently published study, a research team was able to show that these new chips were much better than traditional electronic chips.

Photonic computing definitely has the potential to be a game-changer in the computing world. Here's why:

Advantages of Photonic Computing

Speed: Photons travel much faster than electrons, leading to significantly faster processing speeds.

Energy Efficiency: Photonic computing can be more energy-efficient, especially for large-scale data processing.

Bandwidth: Photonic systems can handle much larger amounts of data compared to electronic systems.

Parallel Processing: Photonic devices can perform multiple calculations simultaneously, accelerating complex tasks.

Current State and Challenges

While photonic computing is still in its early stages, significant progress has been made. However, there are still challenges to overcome:

Integration with Electronics: Seamlessly integrating photonic components with traditional electronic circuits is a complex task.

Cost: Developing and manufacturing photonic devices can be expensive.

Miniaturization: Shrinking photonic components to fit into smaller devices is a challenge.

The future of Photonic Computing

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of photonic computing are driving significant research and development efforts. As technology advances, we can expect to see increasing adoption of photonic solutions in various applications, including:

Artificial Intelligence: Photonic computing can accelerate AI algorithms and training processes.

High-Performance Computing: It can power supercomputers capable of handling massive datasets.

Data Centers: Photonic networks can improve data center efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

While photonic computing may not be the "next big thing" yet, it is undoubtedly a technology with immense potential to revolutionize the way we compute in the future.


Firms like IBM and german Q.ANT are already making Photonic CPU's than can be integrated into large servers. Intel already released there first photonic CPU in 2023.

Articles about photonic CPU's:

https://qant.com/#product-lines

https://research.ibm.com/projects/photonic-devices

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-is-using-light-instead-of-electricity-to-create-ultra-fast-computing/

https://www.unite.ai/photonic-chips-seem-to-boost-speed-of-ai-processes-dramatically/

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