No. 143: Chip to reduce the power consumption of an LSI considerably (August 25, 2010)

Tokyo University, Pioneer, and Toshiba successfully developed the next-generation chip that reduces LSI’s power consumption to one ten thousandth of the current level. The new technology trades data by light instead of electrons because light has less power attenuation. They built the key component that processes optical data moving inside the element at high speed on trial. An LSI that processes data only by light can be built by combining the newly-developed amplifying element with wiring. Because light has extremely smaller resistance than an electron when it runs in wiring, it can reduce energy loss considerably. This is the achievement of a project conducted by NEDO. The project succeeded in the experiment to create special light called near-field light inside the element by irradiating the element with light that flashes 80 million times per second and gate the light’s passage in accordance with the flash of the light. The technology is scheduled to be put into practical use around 2020.
Related web page: http://www.nedo.go.jp/english/index.html