Computing at the speed of light

The human brain is often compared to a computer. Using electrical impulses, it receives inputs from the external world, integrates this information in a split second, and plans and executes responses. The brain’s immense information processing capabilities have also inspired the design of high power computing architectures and driven the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems.

For decades, devices like transistors and semiconductors that operate using the humble electron have dominated the computing world. However, as researchers begin to hit physical limits in how much processing power they can fit into an electronic chip, some are exploring new ways of building chips to overcome those limitations.

One solution might lie in chips that use a different signaling medium altogether: the photon particles of light, instead of the electrons of electricity. Similarly inspired by the brain’s architecture, photonic neuromorphic computing is an emerging approach that could provide unparalleled data transfer bandwidth and minimal latency compared to electronic computers, according to Bowei Dong, an A*STAR International Fellowship (AIF) scholar at Oxford University in the UK.

Ahead of his return to ASTAR, Dong delves into the challenges and opportunities in photonic neuromorphic computing and how the dynamics of light could revolutionise the next generation of computing technologies in this interview with ASTAR Research.