New advances in silicon optical chips: special nanowires selectively transmit light of different colors

Optical microprocessors will one day provide speed-of-the-light computing power, and new research shows that we can produce silicon nanowires that selectively transmit different colors of light. After further development, we can have nanoscales with all-optical interconnections. At the process node, the corresponding electronic components are packaged. Many tech enthusiasts know that fiber optic cables can provide higher bandwidth and speed than traditional copper cables. Light speed is considered the theoretical speed limit of any type of motion.

Previously, researchers have tried to use optical interconnects on microprocessors, but have never found a solution for mass production. The good news is that researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have just published a new one. paper.

It details how silicon nanowires are used to 'selectively allow different wavelengths of light to pass through', while selectively turning on or off different colored light paths, towards the 'build a pure optical microprocessor' An important step.

Due to the special shape created inside the nanowires, the researchers witnessed some magical phenomena. The diameter of the light pipe was modulated with proprietary technology to achieve selective light transmission.

To direct light to the nanowires, the researchers used the optical properties of 'Mie Scattering'. An interesting finding in the study was that the color of the light passing through the nanowires was quite sensitive to environmental conditions.

For microsensors with native light output, they have many potential applications, especially in aerospace and defense. However, miniaturization is one of the obstacles to mass production of optical processors. Current microprocessors can package dozens of With billions of transistors, the scale has been reduced to less than 10 nm. Traditional optical components have remained in the micron-scale process because of the potential problems they face in preventing excessive component density on the chip.