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Aglimmer of light
Forpretty much as long as electronic computers have been
with us, aconcept that appears to offer huge performance
gains has been the subject of so much hype,even though
we’ve seen precious little in the wayofprogress. This
alternative model of computing involves using light instead
of electricityand, on the face of it,itappears to be an ideal
solution. After all, light travels faster than electricity,and it
also has the potential formuchgreater clock speeds.
Much of the debatehas centred around the digital concept
of computing that we use todayand, as such, it requires the
optical equivalent of the electronic transistor.And it’s here
where the problemlies. The fact is that, to date, nobody has
produced an all-optical switch that’s apractical proposition
formainstreamcomputing.
Optical computing using averydifferent model of
computing looks more promising, however.Optical
techniques might playapart in paradigms such as quantum
and neural computing, and there’s no lack of research here.
This isn’t just pie in the sky. Wakefield company
Optalysys has recently brought an optical co-processor
to market. Intended forAIapplications and other demanding tasks
such as simulation and weather forecasting, the optical device
implements aneural network and, according to the company,offers
much better performance than aCPU/GPU combination.ISSUE385|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MARCH2020 105
ABOVE:Despite
the potential of
light forcomputing,
researchers have
struggled to
turn laboratory
experiments intoa
practical processor