A photonic chip is a small device that uses light instead of electrical current to process or transmit information. In conventional electronic chips, electrons move through tiny wires. In photonic chips, information is carried by particles of light, called photons.
Light has important advantages: it can transmit data extremely fast and produces less heat than electrical signals. This makes photonic chips especially useful for modern communication technologies, such as the internet, data centers, and medical systems.
On a photonic chip, microscopic structures guide, split, manipulate, or detect light. These structures are often only a few thousandths of a millimeter in size, yet they can perform very complex tasks.
Photonic chips have the potential to make computers faster and more energy-efficient and play an important role in emerging quantum technologies. They show how light can be used not just to illuminate the world, but to power advanced technology.