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 form an optical-electric switch. That switch will work as the primary building block for development of optical logic – the language needed for future optical computer processors to communicate, said Milton Feng the Nick Holonyak Jr. Emeritus Chair in electrical and computer engineering. “Building a transistor with electrical and optical bistability into a computer chip will significantly increase processing speeds,” Feng said, “because the devices can communicate without the interference that occurs when limited to electron-only transistors.”
The addition of an optical element creates a feedback loop using a process called electron tunneling that controls the transmission of light. Feng said the obvious solution to solving the bottleneck formed by big data transfer – eliminating the electronic data transmission of the transistor and use all optics – is unlikely to happen. “You cannot remove electronics entirely because you need to plug into a current and convert that into light,” Feng said.
Feng and Holonyak, the Bardeen Emeritus Chair in electrical and computer engineering and physics, in 2004 discovered that light – previously considered to be a byproduct of transistor electronics – could be harnessed as an optical signal. This paved the way for the development of the transistor laser, which uses light and electrons to transmit a signal. The new transistor could enable new devices and applications that have not been possible with traditional transistor technology.
Electro-optical bistability was obtained at -50C. The next step will be to prove that the device can work at room temperature. They recently achieved this milestone. https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/498047
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