Photonic Chips Can Be 1 Million Times More Energy Efficient

​In June 2023, researchers from Baylor University and Oregon State University made a groundbreaking discovery about how to significantly reduce the energy consumption of photonic chips, which are used in supercomputers and data centers. The research, supported by the US National Science Foundation, was published in Nature Scientific Reports.

Today, data centers are integral to the world’s digital infrastructure. However, just one data center consumes as much energy as about 50 office buildings. As of June 2023, the United States had over 2,600 data centers. Data centers must consume less energy to make the digital evolution more sustainable.

Currently, photonic chips use particles of light called photons to transmit data rapidly. Unfortunately, this means they require high electricity to stabilize their temperatures and maintain their performance.

In their breakthrough, researchers from the two universities made working prototypes of photonic chips whose temperatures they could keep stable using gate voltage, that is, without electric current. This new technology could reduce the need to control photonic chip temperatures by as high as 1 million. This will allow scientists to keep building on the speed and capacity of data centers without compromising the environment.

Graham R Taylor

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