The first steps have been taken to make computers process at the speed of light. Its going to take more than mere electricity to power them though. What we are looking at then is the infrared light. The Terahertz radiation that is generated by this light is used to power these computers.

We have taken a first step to making circuits that can harness or guide terahertz radiation,” says Ajay Nahata, study leader and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. Eventually — in a minimum of 10 years — this will allow the development of superfast circuits, computers and communications.

The long-term goal is to develop capabilities to create circuits that run faster than modern-day electronic circuits so we can have faster computers and faster data transfer via the Internet.

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