More powerful supercomputers are coming soon

Scientists claim to have created a new optical device small enough to fit millions on a computer chip which could lead to faster, more powerful information processing and supercomputers.

A team at Purdue University says the "passive optical diode" is made from two tiny silicon rings measuring some 10 microns in diameter, or about one-tenth the width of a human hair, the 'Science' journal reported.

Unlike other optical diodes, it doesn't require external assistance to transmit signals and can be readily integrated into computer chips.

The diode is capable of "nonreciprocal transmission", meaning it transmits signals in only one direction, making it capable of information processing, said Prof Minghao Qi, who led the team.

"This one-way transmission is the most fundamental part of a logic circuit, so our diodes open the door to optical information processing," added Qi.

Although fibre-optic cables are instrumental in transmitting large quantities of data across oceans and continents, information processing is slowed and the data are susceptible to cyberattack when optical signals must be translated into electronic signals for use in computers, and vice versa, say the scientists.