Sulphur-based fibres speed up optical computing

The research, published in Advanced Optical Materials, is claimed to have the potential to allow faster and smarter optical computers that learn and evolve.

Researchers from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at Southampton University and Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies (CDPT) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, have demonstrated how neural networks and synapses in the brain can be reproduced, with optical pulses as information carriers, using special fibres made from chalcogenides. 

In a statement, co-author Prof Dan Hewak from ORC, said: ‘Since the dawn of the computer age, scientists have sought ways to mimic the behaviour of the human brain, replacing neurons and our nervous system with electronic switches and memory.

‘Now instead of electrons, light and optical fibres also show promise in achieving a brain-like computer. The cognitive functionality of central neurons underlies the adaptable nature and information processing capability of our brains.’