Australian researchers build chip that uses light, not electricity, to process information

For decades, the world's computers have relied on the same basic principle: moving electrons through circuits to process information. But as artificial intelligence systems become more demanding and data centres consume ever-growing amounts of power, scientists are increasingly searching for alternatives.

A team of researchers in Australia believes light could be the answer.

Scientists at Monash University have developed a miniature chip that uses light instead of electricity to generate, manipulate and read information. More importantly, the team says it has managed to combine all these capabilities into a single device, overcoming a challenge that has long limited progress in the field.

The achievement, published in Nature Photonics, could help lay the groundwork for a new generation of computing technologies that are faster, more energy-efficient and better suited to handling the demands of AI, communications and future quantum-inspired systems.

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Turning light into a computing tool

The new chip is built around an emerging area of research known as valleytronics, a field that seeks to harness unusual quantum properties found in advanced materials.

Rather than relying solely on electrons to carry information, valleytronics uses a quantum characteristic called the "valley degree of freedom". Researchers believe this property could offer entirely new ways of storing and processing data, potentially unlocking capabilities beyond those of traditional electronics.

Although scientists have previously demonstrated individual valleytronic functions, integrating them into a single platform has proven difficult. Most experimental systems could either generate signals or detect them, but not perform every essential task within the same device.

The Monash team says it has now bridged that gap.

Its nanoscale circuit can create specialised light-based signals, guide them through the chip with high precision and convert them into electrical signals when required, all within one compact platform.

Lead author Dr Chi Li described the development as a significant step forward for the technology.

"Until now, we could generate or detect these signals, but not do everything in one integrated device," Dr Li said.

"What we've built is a complete on-chip system that can create, route and read this information with very high precision."

The breakthrough brings researchers closer to practical photonic computing, where light becomes the primary medium for processing information instead of electricity.

A breakthrough with real-world potential

A key part of the innovation lies in the materials used to build the device.

The researchers combined atomically thin materials, just a few layers thick, with specially designed metasurfaces, tiny engineered structures capable of controlling light at an incredibly small scale.

These metasurfaces can manipulate light in ways that conventional optical components cannot, allowing information to be directed and processed with exceptional accuracy.

According to co-first author Dr Kaijian Xing, the team developed a stacking technique that allowed these delicate materials to be integrated without damaging their structure, a problem that has hindered previous efforts in the field.

"We employ a straightforward stacking approach to integrate ultra-thin materials with metasurfaces, overcoming the technical challenges of direct material growth on photonic structures, and enabling further advances in valleytronics," Dr Xing said.

Another important advantage is practicality. Many experimental quantum technologies require ultra-cold temperatures and expensive cooling systems to function. The Monash chip, however, operates at room temperature, making it considerably easier to deploy outside laboratory settings.

Its small size is equally significant. By demonstrating that multiple functions can be integrated into a compact device, the research moves valleytronics closer to commercial applications.

While light-powered computers are unlikely to replace traditional processors overnight, the new chip offers a glimpse of a future where information travels at the speed of light, helping computers become faster, cooler and far more energy efficient than they are today.