As generative artificial-intelligence models become more sophisticated and eat up more energy to produce images and videos, the electronic chips that power them are reaching their limits of speed and efficiency. Optical chips ' semiconductor chips that run on light rather than electricity ' could solve these problems, say researchers working in the field. Such chips, also called photonic chips, are still years away from being integrated into consumer computers and are unlikely to wholly replace electronic chips. However, optical chip research has grown drastically in the past five years, with China leading the charge. 'China has for the past decade invested strategically in infrastructure, capability and talent' in this field, says Ben Eggleton, a physicist at the University of Sydney, Australia. Eggleton, who was the editor-in-chief of APL Photonics for more than a decade until his tenure ended in December 2025, says that he has seen an increase in the number of high-quality...
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