LIVEONCE AGAIN, CHINESE COMPANIES EVADE US SANCTIONS.
Chinese researchers have discovered an economical way to mass-produce optical chips, which could potentially soften the impact of U.S. sanctions.
What Happened: Chinese researchers have developed a cost-effective technique for mass-producing optical chips, crucial for supercomputers and data centers, potentially circumventing U.S. sanctions, South China Morning Post report on Monday.
The breakthrough involves photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which utilize light particles to process and transmit data, enhancing speed and reducing energy use. These chips are integral to fiber optic communications and the burgeoning field of photonic computing.
According to Ou Xin, a professor at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, and Tobias Kippenberg from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, the high costs and limited wafer size have previously restricted the industrial adoption of this technology. Their findings were detailed in a recent Nature publication.
The team chose lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) over the commonly used lithium niobate for its superior properties and compatibility with low-cost, large-scale production methods similar to those used for silicon. This material is already in use for 5G radiofrequency filters in smartphones, indicating its commercial viability.