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Future Microprocessors - Next Generation Cpus

Tiny lasers enable next-gen microprocessors to run faster, less power-hungry

Tiny high-performance lasers grown directly on silicon wafers solve a decades-old semiconductor industry challenge that, until now, has held back the integration of photonics with electronics on the silicon platform. Scientists were able to fabricate tiny lasers directly on silicon -- a huge breakthrough for the semiconductor industry and well beyond. For more than 30 years, the crystal lattice of silicon and of typical laser materials could not match up, making it impossible to integrate the two materials -- until now. Ref. Source 5k.

Cpus Generation - Microprocessors Future

Photonics is definitely the next step in computing. I am glad to see that lasers small enough to fit on a chip are finally being developed. It is a hard problem to solve as coherent laser beams require many passes through lasing elements to create any kind of effective laser light. As the article mentions, as you shrink lasers, the loss due to mirrors increases significantly. I can't wait for 'light-speed' processors and data transfer to become ubiquitous, though I imagine even with their 10 year time-frame that this technology will remain comparatively expensive for another 20 to 30 years.

Future Microprocessors - Next Generation Cpus Gaming Video & Issues Computer

This is going to be super important for future gaming applications that become more movie like. I hate having to get a new system every 18 months to keep up with gaming needs. A microprocessor that was always faster than what game programmers made will be great!