Optical processors for high performance and energy efficient computing for data centres and supercomputers

Moore’s Law which stated that the number of transistors on a chip will double approximately every two years has been the driver of semiconductor industry in boosting the complexity, computational performance and energy efficiency while reducing cost. The increase in computing performance of electronic computers is becoming more and more difficult, as dimensions approach nano meter ranges. The solution has been using parallel processing with multiple cores. While this has enhanced performance, it has led to the problem of rising energy consumption due to enhanced communications required between these cores and outside components. So much so that the communication on and between chips is now responsible for more than half of the total power consumption of the computer. With data increasing 70% year over year, analysts predict that in a few years, data centers may not have enough electricity to support all of the data storage and transfer.