Transistor laser tagged posts

University of Illinois engineer Milton Feng and his team have introduced an upgrade to transistor lasers that could boost computer processor speeds. Credit: Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

Engineers are unveiling an upgrade to the transistor laser that could be used to boost computer processor speeds – the formation of two stable energy states and the ability to switch between them quickly. Modern computers are limited by a delay formed as electrons travel through the tiny wires and switches on a computer chip. To overcome this electronic backlog, engineers would like to develop a computer that transmits information using light, in addition to electricity, because light travels faster than electricity.

Having two stable energy states, or bistability, within a transistor allows the device to for...

Graduate students Junyi Wu and Curtis Wang and professor Milton Feng found that light stimulates switching speed in the transistor laser, a device they hope will usher in the next generation of high-speed data transmission. Credit: Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

Light and electrons interact in a complex dance within fiber optic devices. A new study by University of Illinois engineers found that in the transistor laser, a device for next-generation high-speed computing, the light and electrons spur one another on to faster switching speeds than any devices available.

As big data become bigger and cloud computing becomes more commonplace, the infrastructure for transferring the ever-increasing amounts of data needs to speed up...