Shrinking computers with 'light'

This breakthrough means smaller supercomputers.

Based on IBM's research, supercomputers may one day be the size of laptops.

Scientists at IBM have completed work on replacing copper wires with connections between processing cores.

The connectors created by this team transmit data using light, which is not only faster but also more energy-efficient than copper wires.

This device is smaller than any previous connector and has the potential to change future computer clusters.

The journal Optical Express reported that IBM's new development could use devices utilizing optical pulses to replace current copper wires.

This device, called a silicon Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator, is many times smaller than previous conversion devices.

"What we have done is an important step towards inventing an extremely small and efficient way to connect those cores, and doing it in a way that no one else has done before," said Dr. Tze-chiang Chen, spokesperson for IBM's Science and Technology Research Department.

Using light can also enhance the performance of current dual-core systems because the speed of data transfer between them is greatly accelerated.

Researchers believe that using light can significantly reduce the heat generated by moving data between cores.

Dr. Green stated that this technology can transmit data over a few centimeters at 100 times the speed of current wires, but with only one-tenth of the power consumption.

The low power demand can reduce the operating costs of supercomputers.

Abandoning the current cooling system of computers can also greatly reduce their size.

So far, this technology has only been realized in the laboratory, and it will take several years before it can be commercialized.

This article was translated by diglog from [http://doggdot.us/rd/92461/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7130416.stm](http://doggdot.us/rd/92461/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7130416.stm).