A photonic chip the size of a fingernail appeared. It will speed up data transfer and AI training

Researchers from Monash University and Royal Melbourne University of Technology

(Australia) presented the first photonan integrated system that will connect the “superhighways” of data transmission. According to scientists, this way they will be able to improve the capabilities of optical chips, replacing outdated devices with modern analogues.

Development will accelerate the development of artificialintelligence and make autonomous cars safer. In addition, by accelerating the work of AI, the diagnosis of diseases will become easier, and compact switches will be able to transfer data faster. Scientists explained this by the fact that photonic chips can replace the computing capabilities of bulky devices without loss.

Project Lead Investigator, ARC Award WinnerMonash University professor Arthur Lowry, noted that this breakthrough complements a previous discovery by Dr. Bill Corcoran of Monash University, who in 2020 developed a new optical microcell chip capable of carrying three times as much traffic through a single optical fiber as the country's entire National Broadband Network. This is the fastest internet speed in the world using a chip the size of a fingernail.

"This study is a major breakthrough -now photonic technology is so advanced that even complex systems can be placed on a single chip. The idea that a device can have an on-chip reference system that allows all of its components to work as a single unit is a technological breakthrough that will solve the problem of Internet bottlenecks and deliver data to where it is most needed. ”

Professor Arnan Mitchell, Monash University

Photonic circuits are capable of directing opticalchannels of information, but they can also provide some computational power, such as finding patterns. This process is critical for medical diagnostics, autonomous vehicles, internet security, threat identification, and search algorithms.

According to physicists, the speed of the photonA neurochip can reach 2 petaflops per second. This is many times more than the performance of their silicon competitors. At the same time, it will consume about 80 watts of energy, 95% of which falls on the auxiliary components of the chip, and not on its optical computing part. Scientists hope that this feature of photonic chips will help these devices quickly penetrate into all areas of science.

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