Optical Computing and Networking

Optical computing and networking denotes the use of light in computer processing and communication. The physical properties of natural light, introduced with discoveries as early as the nineteenth century, now allow scientists to understand and utilize light as a technique for computing and a method for networking. Light acts as a substitute for electricity in computer processing and information channeling.

In 1870, physicist John Tyndall established the physical properties of light during a demonstration of how light reacts in water. When water was poured from an illuminated pitcher, Tyndall revealed that light from the sun bent with the shape of the pouring water. This later led to research on photons, particles of light, and the ways in which they could be transmitted and controlled. Optical computing—hereinafter referred to as optics—became a heavily investigated field of research in the 1980s, in the hope of speeding up computer processing.

Optics uses photons instead of electrons to establish on-and-off switches within the microchips of computer technology. These switches regulate the flow of information, power, and instructions within the computer.

Optics offers a way to overcome some of the limitations of electronics in areas such as miniaturizing computer processors, increasing the flow of data traffic, and supporting greater bandwidth. Since light moves at extremely high speeds when compared to electricity, computers that process light can function at rates much faster than the technology of today. Furthermore, beams of light can be crossed without problems, reducing the chance of short circuits. With the innumerable possibilities that optics offer to computer technology, dedicated researchers found a new way to address the problems set forth by optics, and designed optoelectronics.

Optoelectronics merges optical networking with electrical computing to form a hybrid. It is a process by which electrons can interact with photons to achieve a working relationship between the speed capabilities possessed by optics and the already-established methods of electrical computer processing. For instance, when a file is sent between computers, optoelectronics can translate it into a photonic form and send it through fiberoptic cables; then the receiving computer can translate the file back into an electronic form.

The significance of optical networking lies in its ability to channel massive amounts of information quickly. As Internet use grows, bandwidth becomes an essential commodity; each Internet user needs a portion of the available bandwidth to receive data. Fiberoptics can be used as medium for information transmission to solve such dilemmas. Philip Ball, a writer for Nature News Service, describes the unique size and ability of fiberoptics. As Ball explains, fiberoptics are made up of strands of glass or plastic that can transmit far more information than normal copper wires can. Using optical carrier technology that passes and controls the flow of light, gigabits of information, at data transmission rates in excess of 1,000,000,000 bits per second, can travel much faster than the 4,500,000 bits per second permitted through copper wires. In addition, light will travel great distances through fiberoptics, and unlike electronic transmissions, the fiberoptic signals do not need to be recharged.

Fiberoptics are the underlying vehicle for information transmission, and are essential components to optical networking. However, they provide only a carrying method for light. A laser, similar to the component that reads information from a CD-ROM, must first generate the light. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), or miniature lasers, send instructions and information in the form of binary data through fiberoptic cables. The pulses of light generated by the LED are then received by a photodiode on the alternate end, which transforms the light into electronic current that can be understood by the corresponding computer.

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