The foundation of most modern computing devices, whether smartphones or laptops, lies in electronic technology, which generates significant heat, especially with performance increases. Moreover, current fabrication methods are nearing theoretical limits. Researchers are now exploring alternatives to overcome these hurdles, with optical computing emerging as a promising candidate.
Optical computing uses light waves, which can perform complex operations while producing no heat. Additionally, various light wavelengths can pass through optical materials without interference, enabling parallel data processing. This could, in theory, lead to a high-speed, power-efficient computing system capable of handling massive data loads.
"In the 1980s, researchers in Japan explored an optical computing method called shadow casting, which could perform some simple logical operations. But their implementation was based on relatively bulky geometric optical forms, perhaps analogous to the vacuum tubes used in early digital computers. They worked in principle, but they lacked flexibility and ease of integration to make something useful," explained Associate Professor Ryoichi Horisaki from the Information Photonics Lab at the University of Tokyo. "We introduce an optical computing scheme called diffraction casting which improves upon shadow casting. Shadow casting is based on light rays interacting with different geometries, whereas diffraction casting is based on properties of the light wave itself, which results in more spatially efficient, functionally flexible optical elements that are extensible in ways you'd expect and require for a universal computer. We ran numerical simulations which yielded very positive results, using small 16-by-16 pixel black-and-white images as inputs, smaller than icons on a smartphone screen."
In diffraction casting, Horisaki and his team propose an all-optical system that performs logic operations using light, converting the output into digital data only at the final stage. The researchers envision this method as particularly useful in tasks such as image processing or machine learning, where data can be represented graphically. The system functions similarly to image editing software, where layers of images interact to produce an output. In this case, light passes through these layers, casting an image onto a sensor that converts it into digital data for further use.
Lead author Ryosuke Mashiko noted, "Diffraction casting is just one building block in a hypothetical computer based around this principle and it might be best to think of it as an additional component rather than a full replacement of existing systems, akin to the way graphical processing units are specialized components for graphics, gaming and machine learning workloads. I anticipate it will take around 10 years to become commercially available, as much work has to be done on the physical implementation, which, although grounded in real work, has yet to be constructed. At present, we can demonstrate the usefulness of diffraction casting in performing the 16 basic logic operations at the heart of much information processing, but there's also scope for extending our system into another upcoming area of computing that goes beyond the traditional, and that's in quantum computing. Time will tell."
Research Report:Diffraction casting
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