Conference Session: A12
Paper #6178
Disclaimer — This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This
paper is based on publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this
paper is used for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year
(freshman) engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at
his or her own risk.
DEVELOPMENT OF OPTICAL TRANSISTORS FOR USE IN
ADVANCED COMPUTING
Ronen Orland, roo18@pitt.edu, Mahboobin 4:00, Gerrick Ruffner, ghr2@pitt.edu, Mahboobin 10:00
Revised Proposal — The technology we will discuss is the
development, improvement, and integration of optical
transistors for use in optical computing and further developing
a complete optical computer. Optical computing is a relatively
underdeveloped field which uses optical technologies and the
properties of light to process information [1]. Optical
computing can become more powerful than electrical-based
computing since photons travel at much greater speeds than
electrons, allowing for faster processing of information.
Transistors are the backbone of computing power today,
and to achieve viable and more powerful optical computing
capabilities, we would need to create an optical-technology
equivalent of the current electronic transistor. Creating an
optimal optical transistor would be of great benefit as it would
advance optical computing, whose greater speeds would be
readily welcomed by all. Society and industry is always
seeking greater computational power from their machines, and
electrical components, namely the electrical transistor, is
currently reaching its physical limits. They are further and
further miniaturized to pack more power into the same amount
of space, and now it is becoming increasingly difficult to be
able to continue to do so [2]. Researchers have begun looking
to different solutions, such as using different materials.
Currently, optical transistors and other optical components
have the drawback of being much larger than electrical
counterparts. If optical transistor process at greater speeds
and are further developed, the process to start making them
smaller can begin and eventually outgrow the current progress
of electrical transistors.
Optical computing technology can bring benefits other than
just faster information processing. An optical computer would
require less power to run. Consequently, using less power
means producing less heat, which presents a problem in
electrical computers. Using photons allows for manipulation
of individual photons, which makes it easier to observe the
unique effects of quantum physics and thus easier to research
and work on quantum computers (a type of computer that
utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics to perform at
unprecedented speeds) [3]. Other advantages include better
ergonomics (less space taken and less noise produced), no
interference, processing multiple data streams at the same
time [2], secure communications [4], and incapability of
short-circuiting. As you can see, the benefits of working on
creating a viable and effective optical transistor would be
beneficial to society and more immediately to industrial
settings.
REFERENCES
[1] P. Ambs. (2010). “Optical Computing: A 60-Year
Adventure.”
Hindawi.
(online
article).
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aot/2010/372652/
[2] H. Abdeldayem, D. Frazier, M. Paley, W. Witherow.
(2000, April 27). “Recent Advances in Photonic Devices for
Optical Computing.” NASA. (online paper).
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2000/04/27/ast27f
eb_1_resources/thepaper.pdf
[3] L. Hardesty. (2013, July 4). “Researchers build an alloptical
transistor.”
MIT
News.
(online
article).
http://news.mit.edu/2013/computing-with-light-0704
[4] F. Macdonald. (2015, Nov. 27). “Scientists have
discovered a material that could create quantum optical
computers.”
Science
Alert.
(online
article).
http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-discovered-amaterial-that-could-create-quantum-optical-computers
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
H. Abdeldayem, D. Frazier, M. Paley, W. Witherow. (2000,
April 27). “Recent Advances in Photonic Devices for Optical
Computing.” NASA. (online paper).
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2000/04/27/ast27f
eb_1_resources/thepaper.pdf
This online paper, from the NASA website regarding
possible future technological research, details the development
and promise of optical computing. The paper covers the
research and development of optical computing, including the
manufacturing of optical materials and components, integrated
optical circuits, and the recent use of electro-optical systems in
university research. This source will become invaluable for the
detail it provides regarding manufacturing and projected
performance of optical components.
Ronen Orland
Gerrick Ruffner
P. Ambs. (2010). “Optical Computing: A 60-Year Adventure.”
Hindawi.
(online
article).
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aot/2010/372652/
This research paper is written by an electrical engineering
professor from a French university. The paper gives the reader
a thorough historical and technological overview of opticsbased computing, detailing many individual technologies and
processes. This source will be useful in teaching us in greater
detail the many steps we must take to develop an optical
transistor, as well as what problems have been in doing so,
historically.
regards to optical computing. With specific layering of atomthick sheets of molybdenum disulfide, the light-emitting
material can be more easily tuned to specific frequencies. This
provides a possible solution to hardware issues regarding the
transmission of data in optical circuits.
F. Macdonald. (2015, Nov. 27). “Scientists have discovered a
material that could create quantum optical computers.” Science
Alert. (online article). http://www.sciencealert.com/scientistshave-discovered-a-material-that-could-create-quantumoptical-computers
This online article, from a website aimed at promoting and
sharing scientific news, informs the reader of hexagonal boron
nitride, which can be used to create optical transistors. This
article will be useful because of the basic introduction it
provides to optical computing, which can help us explain the
topic to our audience. We can also pursue the topic of using
boron nitride when discussing the development of optical
transistors.
(2012, April 30). “10 GHz Optical Transistor Built Out Of
Silicon.” MIT Technology Review. (online article).
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/427781/10-ghzoptical-transistor-built-out-of-silicon/
This online article details the creation of a basic functioning
optical transistor. The article was posted from a technology
news review source, Emerging Technology From the arXiv.
Purdue University revealed their design for an optical
transistor using two optical lines to control a microring
resonator to control the output gates. This system might
possibly be used as a logic mechanism in fully functioning
optical transistors.
M. McFarland. (1991, Feb.) “Ethics and the safety of computer
systems.”
IEEE.
(online
article).
http://rt4rf9qn2y.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&a
uinit=MC&aulast=McFarland&atitle=Standardsethics+and+the+safety+of+computer+systems&id=doi:10.11
09/2.67211&title=Computer+(Long+Beach,+Calif.)&volume
=24&issue=2&date=1991&spage=72&issn=0018-9162
This article, published by the IEEE, discusses the ethics of
computer systems. The writer depicts a scenario in which
computer-related ethical questions arise, then addresses these
questions and describes why some may be difficult to deal
with. This source will be useful because compared to other
fields, like civil engineering, there is relatively little in the way
of computer ethics, and this will help provide a deeper
understanding of related issues.
L. Hardesty. (2015, Dec. 23). “Optoelectronic microprocessors
built using existing chip manufacturing.” MIT News. (online
article).
http://news.mit.edu/2015/optoelectronicmicroprocessors-chip-manufacturing-1223
This online article covers recent research and development
of an optoelectronic transistor by a joint team of researchers.
This article is posted from the MIT News website, along with
a plethora of other relevant articles regarding optical
computing and transistors. The article covers the team’s
research and experimentation with hybrid electronic-photonic
information transfers and integrated circuitry. In regards to the
future of optical computing, this represents progress towards
that goal.
SOURCES CONSULTED
J. Brink. “Choosing Your Topic Video Tutorial.” University of
Pittsburgh.
(online
video).
http://www.library.pitt.edu/other/files/il/fresheng/index.html
M. McFarland. (1991, Feb.) “Ethics and the safety of computer
systems.”
IEEE.
(online
article).
http://rt4rf9qn2y.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&a
uinit=MC&aulast=McFarland&atitle=Standardsethics+and+the+safety+of+computer+systems&id=doi:10.11
09/2.67211&title=Computer+(Long+Beach,+Calif.)&volume
=24&issue=2&date=1991&spage=72&issn=0018-9162
L. Hardesty. (2013, July 4). “Researchers build an all-optical
transistor.”
MIT
News.
(online
article).
http://news.mit.edu/2013/computing-with-light-0704
This article is from MIT’s news site, which writes about
research in their labs. The article discusses the fabrication of
an optical transistor and how it works. It also states several
applications of optical transistors for use in more than just an
optical computer. This article will be useful in clarifying what
exactly optical transistors must be capable of and why, as well
as providing reasons to continue development in the field.
TOPIC AREA: COMPUTER ENGINEERING
L. Hardesty. (2014, Sept. 17). “Toward optical chips.” MIT
News. (online article). http://news.mit.edu/2014/optical-chipstunable-light-source-0917
This online article explains how layering sheets of
molybdenum disulfide can be used as a light source for optical
circuits. This article is posted from the MIT News website in
The development of optical transistors represents a new
step in improving computing power beyond the capacity of our
current electronic transistors. Computer engineering is a
discipline that specializes in the development and application
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Ronen Orland
Gerrick Ruffner
of computing technology. This places the topic of optical
transistors, and optical computing in general, under the
purview of computer engineering. The future applications of
optical transistors will expand exponentially as the technology
develops and the necessity for engineering input will increase
with the progressive implementation of the technology.
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