Can light beams replace electronic signals in future computers?

摘要

Intel has announced an advance in the quest to use light beams to replace the use of electrons to carry data in and around computers. The company has developed a research prototype employing extremely thin and light optical fibers and representing the first silicon-based optical-data connection with integrated lasers. The link can move data over longer distances and do it many times faster than today's copper technology-as fast as 50 Gbps.