"OPTICAL: computer components tap slot waveguides"
Cornell University says it has fabricated the components necessary for silicon optical computers that use light instead of electrons. "Photonic microchips are now a reality," said assistant professor Michal Lipson. The announcement last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Seattle opens the door to practical optical microchips, she said. Lipson and her associates replaced wires with beams of light routed on-chip, through the air, by silicon waveguides and routed off-chip by a "pinhole" lens connecting to normal optical fibers.
Audio Interviews / Text: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20040218S0019