02-10-2010, 05:02 PM
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ABSTRACT
An optical computer (also called a photonic computer) is a device that uses the photons of visible light or infrared (IR) beams, rather than electric current, to perform digital computations. An electric current creates heat in computer systems. As the processing speed increases, so does the amount of electricity required; this extra heat is extremely damaging to the hardware. Light, however, creates insignificant amounts of heat, regardless of how much is used. Thus, the development of more powerful processing systems becomes possible.
An optical desktop computer could be capable of processing data up to 100,000 times faster than current models because multiple operations can be performed simultaneously.
On October 4, 1993, the eminent Soviet physicist Prof. U. Kh. Kopvillem would have been 70 years old. However, he died prematurely on September 24, 1991.
His research was the foundation of several areas of nonlinear optics, quantum acoustics, and radioacoustics. The breadth of the subject matter of this issue, ranging from studies on the role of photon modes in high-temperature superconductivity to the propagation of ullxashort pulses (of the order of one period), only partially reflects the wide specmam of the scientific interests of U. Kh. Kopvillem.
Optical computing where the processing of electrical energy is replaced by light quanta is very attractive for future technologies. The replacement of wires by optical pathways is of special interest because light can cross without interference and thus, the complex wiring of modern computers may be appreciably simplified. Moreover, optical computers can operate at very high rates because there are not the problems of electrical computers such as inductivities of wires and loading of parasitic capacitors.
AN OVERVIEW OF OPTICAL COMPUTING
Computers have become an indispensable part of life. We need computers everywhere, be it for work, research or in any such field. As the use of computers in our day-to-day life increases, the computing resources that we need also go up. For companies like Google and Microsoft, harnessing the resources as and when they need it is not a problem. But when it comes to smaller enterprises, affordability becomes a huge factor. With the huge infrastructure come problems like machines failure, hard drive crashes, software bugs, etc. This might be a big headache for such a community. Optical Computing offers a solution to this situation.
An Optical Computer is a hypothetical device that uses visible light or infrared beams, rather than electric current, to perform digital computations. An electric current flows at only about 10 percent of speed of light. By applying some of the advantages of visible and/or IR networks at the device and component scale, a computer can be developed that can perform operations very much times faster than a conventional electronic computer.
Optical computing describes a new technological approach for constructing computer’s processors and other components. Instead of the current approach of electrically transmitting data along tiny wires etched onto silicon. Optical computing employs a technology called silicon photonics that uses laser light instead.
This use of optical lasers overcomes the constraints associated with heat dissipation in today’s components and allows much more information to be stored and transmitted in the same amount of space. Optical computing means performing computations, operations, storage and transmission of data using light. Optical technology promises massive upgrades in the efficiency and speed of computers, as well as significant shrinkage in their size and cost. An optical desktop computer is capable of processing data up to 1,00,000 times faster than current models.
An optical computer (also called a photonic computer) is a device that uses the photons of visible light or infrared (IR) beams, rather than electric current, to perform digital computations. An electric current creates heat in computer systems. As the processing speed increases, so does the amount of electricity required; this extra heat is extremely damaging to the hardware.
An optical desktop computer could be capable of processing data up to 100,000 times faster than current models because multiple operations can be performed simultaneously.
On October 4, 1993, the eminent Soviet physicist Prof. U. Kh. Kopvillem would have been 70 years old. However, he died prematurely on September 24, 1991.
His research was the foundation of several areas of nonlinear optics, quantum acoustics, and radioacoustics. The breadth of the subject matter of this issue, ranging from studies on the role of photon modes in high-temperature superconductivity to the propagation of ullxashort pulses (of the order of one period), only partially reflects the wide specmam of the scientific interests of U. Kh. Kopvillem.
Optical computing where the processing of electrical energy is replaced by light quanta is very attractive for future technologies. The replacement of wires by optical pathways is of special interest because light can cross without interference and thus, the complex wiring of modern computers may be appreciably simplified. Moreover, optical computers can operate at very high rates because there are not the problems of electrical computers such as inductivities of wires and loading of parasitic capacitors.
AN OVERVIEW OF OPTICAL COMPUTING
Computers have become an indispensable part of life. We need computers everywhere, be it for work, research or in any such field. As the use of computers in our day-to-day life increases, the computing resources that we need also go up. For companies like Google and Microsoft, harnessing the resources as and when they need it is not a problem. But when it comes to smaller enterprises, affordability becomes a huge factor. With the huge infrastructure come problems like machines failure, hard drive crashes, software bugs, etc. This might be a big headache for such a community. Optical Computing offers a solution to this situation.
An Optical Computer is a hypothetical device that uses visible light or infrared beams, rather than electric current, to perform digital computations. An electric current flows at only about 10 percent of speed of light. By applying some of the advantages of visible and/or IR networks at the device and component scale, a computer can be developed that can perform operations very much times faster than a conventional electronic computer.
Optical computing describes a new technological approach for constructing computer’s processors and other components. Instead of the current approach of electrically transmitting data along tiny wires etched onto silicon. Optical computing employs a technology called silicon photonics that uses laser light instead.
This use of optical lasers overcomes the constraints associated with heat dissipation in today’s components and allows much more information to be stored and transmitted in the same amount of space. Optical computing means performing computations, operations, storage and transmission of data using light. Optical technology promises massive upgrades in the efficiency and speed of computers, as well as significant shrinkage in their size and cost. An optical desktop computer is capable of processing data up to 1,00,000 times faster than current models.
An optical computer (also called a photonic computer) is a device that uses the photons of visible light or infrared (IR) beams, rather than electric current, to perform digital computations. An electric current creates heat in computer systems. As the processing speed increases, so does the amount of electricity required; this extra heat is extremely damaging to the hardware.
