Optical transistor: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:15, 21 April 2022

Revision as of 23:17, 30 October 2022

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Optical transistors could be used to improve the performance of [[fiber-optic communication]] networks. Although [[Optical fiber cable|fiber-optic cables]] are used to transfer data, tasks such as signal routing are done electronically. This requires optical-electronic-optical conversion, which form bottlenecks. In principle, all-optical [[digital signal processing]] and routing is achievable using optical transistors arranged into [[photonic integrated circuit]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jin |first1=C.-Y. |last2=Wada |first2=O. |date=March 2014 |title=Photonic switching devices based on semiconductor nano-structures |journal=Journal of Physics D |volume=47 |issue=13 |pages=133001 |doi=10.1088/0022-3727/47/13/133001|arxiv=1308.2389 |bibcode=2014JPhD...47m3001J |s2cid=118513312 }}</ref> The same devices could be used to create new types of [[optical amplifiers]] to compensate for signal attenuation along transmission lines.

A more elaborate application of optical transistors is the development of an optical digital computer in which componentssignals processare photonsphotonic (i.e., light-transmitting media) rather than electronselectronic (wires). Further, optical transistors that operate using single photons could form an integral part of [[quantum computer|quantum information processing]] where they can be used to selectively address individual units of quantum information, known as [[qubits]].

Optical transistors could in theory be impervious to the high radiation of space and extraterrestrial planets, unlike electronic transistors which suffer from [[Single-event upset]].