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Jul 06, 2013 07:52 PM EDT

MIT Researchers Build All-Optical Transistor;

The Future of Quantum Computers
By Julie S

MIT Researchers Build All-Optical Transistor; The Future of Quantum Computers

The use of light instead of electricity in doing calculations is a method
known as optical computing. It creates a substantial difference between
conventional computers and the quantum computers. Through optical
computing, hypothetical devices can make special types of computations
that are incredibly faster than the good old classical computers.
However, optical computing needs light particles such as photons in order to
modify their behaviour. This is something that may be hard to achieve and the
reason is quite simple. When two photons collide in a vacuum, they tend to just
pass through each other.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Research
Laboratory of Electronics, Vienna University of Technology, and Harvard University
collaborated to figure out how to manipulate the behaviour of the photons in which
they were able to create an optical switch which can be controlled by a single
photon thus governing light transmission. It is then referred to as a transistors
optical analog which is the main component found in a computing circuit.
The result of their study was published on an online journal Science.
Additionally, quantum physics and its strange, counterintuitive effects are more
visible in individual particles as compared with those that are in clusters. Hence,
the use of a single photon when flipping the switch could come in handy for

08-Jul-13 11:33 AM

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quantum computing.
The heart of the above-mentioned switch is made up of a pair of mirrors that are
highly reflective. If the switch is turned on, there is an optical signal or a beam of
light that passes through the mirrors. If the switch is turned off, the light that passes
through is reduced by 20 percent.
The two mirrors are used as optical resonator. Vladan Vuletic, MITs Lester Wolfe
Professor of Physics, explains in the report that when theres only one mirror, all
the light that passes through would just come back. On the other hand, something
weird happens when you use two mirrors instead of one. The distance between
these two mirrors should be exactly calculated to the wavelength of the light. When
the right wavelength is achieved, the mirrors suddenly become transparent to light.
The main advantage of optical computing is power management. The amount of
consumed energy in computing devices is something that we shouldnt ignore. The
biggest advantage of switching in the single-photon level is the energy that is
saved in every bit. The bit is naturally included in one single photon.
Vuckovic believes that the result of their study may be used in the enhancement of
computer chips which may result to faster computers with longer battery life.

08-Jul-13 11:33 AM