Key innovation in photonic components could transform supercomputing technology

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-key-photonic-components-supercomputing-technology.html

"Programmable photonic IC, silicon-based MEMS... faster, 5X smaller, fW levels (>1 million times less power consumption), parallel computing... not dependent on temperature changes but on mechanical movements powered by electrostatic forces... manipulate light wave phase, controlling coupling between parallel waveguides interacting with micromechanical switches... can use conventional silicon wafer production... AI crucial inference tasks, advanced image processing, high-bandwidth data transmission"