Communications of the ACM
Vortex Laser Offers Hope For Moore's Law
Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a light manipulation technique that distributes a laser in a corkscrew pattern with a vortex at the center, which could serve to boost computing power and information transfer rates.
Credit: University at Buffalo
Researchers at the University at Buffalo (UB) have used orbital angular momentum to advance laser technology, a breakthrough that could boost computing power and information transfer rates tenfold.
The researchers say the light manipulation technique distributes the laser in a corkscrew pattern with a vortex at the center. The team was able to shrink the vortex laser to the point where it is compatible with computer chips.
The researchers note because the laser beam travels in a corkscrew pattern, encoding information into different vortex twists, the vortex laser is able to carry 10 times or more information than conventional lasers, which move linearly.
They say the boost in computing power and information transfer rates provided by the light-based communication tool could solve the approaching data bottleneck, as well as help to reassure those who are fretting over the predicted end of Moore's Law.
"To transfer more data while using less energy, we need to rethink what's inside these machines," says UB professor Liang Feng.
The research was supported by grants from the U.S. Army Research Office, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation.
From UB News Services
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