Two UK universities have received a 6 million funding injection from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to conduct additional research on how to create devices that make use of light to process big chunks of data quickly.
So-called nanoplasmonic devices are built using minute metal nanoscale structures that, although 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair can accurately direct and guide light.
Imperial College, London and Queen's University, Belfast both hope to boost research in this area with the funding received with the aim of making it possible for high-speed optical computer to be created and deployed in the future based on this technology breakthrough.
"This is basic research into how light interacts with matter on the nanoscale. But we will work together with and listen to our industrial partners to direct research in the direction that hopefully will lead to new improved products and services that everyone can buy from the shelf," said Professor Anatoly Zayats from the Queen's University's Centre for Nanostructured Media, in a statement. Industry heavyweights Ericsson, IMEC, Intel, Oxonica, the National Physics Laboratory and Seagate, are also supporting the research effort.
"This is an exciting step towards developing computers that use light waves, not electrical current, to handle data and process information. In the future these optical computers will provide us with more processing power and higher speed," Professor Stefan Maier, who is leading the research at Imperial, added in a statement. "This will also open the door to a world of possibilities in scientific fields at the interface with the biosciences, and perhaps even in the world of personal computing."
