Researchers Create Photonic Microprocessor

[jasonelmore]

Quantum computers are the next big thing Google already has one.

1) Not for consumers. They require extremely low temps near absolute zero.
2) Extremely expensive.
3) Extremely limited use - they're actually next to useless right now and yes that includes the ones Google has purchased to tinker with.
4) Unknown reliability/accuracy.

D-Wave and MS are both working on some new designs, but anything remotely useful for real work are a ways off. But even then the other issues will remain extremely difficult to solve, in particular the operating temperature range.

Think outside the box.. The only designs that require super cold operation are ones based off helium atoms. We could theoretically use magnetic fields and micon sized sphere's.

There are several ways to go about making a quantum computer

 

[chicofehr]

This is more about connecting the electronic components together with light apposed to electric circuitry.
Photonic circuitry on a mobo would solve most of the latency problems and give HBM like speed between all the components attached to it. I am thinking this will be the next thing as it is easier to implement now then a cpu/gpu running on light.

 

[blazorthon]

I don't think this is a substitute for how HBM simply minimizes distance between components. The two could go hand in hand.

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
If it's not clear, i'll repeat this is ONLY about saving power in certain scenarios. It involves normal processors so is only about changing the CONNECTION between chips.

It's comparable to using an AC transmission system for power instead of DC over long distances.

Basically the same as using fiber optics instead of copper twisted pair for networking. One transmits photons, and the other electrons.

In fact, for networking photonic routers are a huge deal to reduce not just power but latency which is critical for real-time network usage like MMO's (yes, feel the power of Microsoft Azure...).

Clear as mud?

 

[pcm2007]

Only communications via light . Nothing new. I thought it made computing (execution of machine instructions) using photonics.

 

[blazorthon]

Didn't you read the article lol...

Communications via light inside of a processor isn't very new, but it actually being effective and relatively cheap to manufacture is very new. Internal communication by light used to be very expensive in a chip, use a lot of die space, and have poor latency from converting between electrical signals and photonic signals.