Exploring the Future of Photonics

[foges]

So I'm applying to graduate school and have taken an interest in Photonics, but I'm not really sure of where photonics is really headed, the reason i bring this up is:

-When talking to my communication electronics professor he mentioned that photonics was something everyone thought was going to take of, but never really did
-I am doing some lab work in a clean room producing Photonic crystals and the PhD student I am working for said that it turns out photonic crystals arn't really what everyone had hoped
- When googleing (integrated circuit) photonics most of the papers I have been able to find are from 2007-2006 and before
- Photon photon interaction is impossible which requires photon electron interaction, which requires quite a bit of energy, close to that generated by losses in electronics


Now surely photonics is great for longer distance communication and lasers may have some very useful applications in things like bio-medicine, but what about photonics within a computer?

Thanks
PS: I mean no offense to photonics specialists, just want to know kind of what the general consensus is..

 

[Algr]

Not really an answer, but might be relevant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Peak

 

[josh_einsle]

photon- photon may be out, but photon-plasmon are one area that shows some promise for optical computing. I was at a photonics conference last Easter and the conference organizer pointed out that he thought much of the research would start heading into the plasmonics side as building plasmonic devices looks more tractable. This was all good for me since I was speaking on plasmonics anyway.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Now surely photonics is great for longer distance communication and lasers may have some very useful applications in things like bio-medicine, but what about photonics within a computer?

3-D photonic crystals, as a mass-produced technological device for visible or near IR light, are a long way off- probably decades. However, 1-D photonic crystals are currently pseudo-mass produced and are finding a lot of applications:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photonic-crystal_fiber

Photonics means pretty much anything that controls the propagation of light. So, there's things like metamaterials (not just photonic bandgaps, it's more general and includes negative refractive index materials), diffractionless beams (Bessel beams), short pulse generation, nonlinear optics, etc. etc.

As far as photonics in computers, there's efforts to integrate lasers directly onto chips (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_silicon_laser), there's new classes of lasers (nanolasers, whispering-mode lasers), and displays (organic semiconductor lasers).

 

[rezeew]

As a scientist in the field of photonics, I can understand your concerns and questions about the future of this technology. First, I want to assure you that photonics is a rapidly growing and evolving field with a lot of potential for future advancements. While it may not have taken off as quickly as some predicted, there are still many exciting developments happening in the world of photonics.

One thing to keep in mind is that the research and development process for new technologies can take many years, sometimes even decades, before they are fully integrated into practical applications. So while it may seem like there hasn't been much progress in the last few years, that doesn't mean there won't be significant advancements in the future. In fact, there are many ongoing research projects and collaborations focused on pushing the boundaries of photonics and finding new applications for it.

Regarding your concerns about photonic crystals and their limitations, it is true that they may not have lived up to the initial hype surrounding them. However, there are still many potential uses for photonic crystals, such as in optical computing and sensing applications. And even if one specific technology doesn't meet expectations, it often leads to new discoveries and innovations that can be applied to other areas of photonics.

In terms of photonics within computers, there has been a lot of progress in this area, particularly in the development of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). These are becoming increasingly important for high-speed data processing and communication, and there is a lot of ongoing research and development in this area.

Overall, I can assure you that photonics is a thriving field with a lot of potential for the future. While there may be some challenges and limitations, as with any technology, there are also many exciting advancements and potential applications. I encourage you to continue exploring this field and to keep an open mind about its potential. Best of luck with your graduate studies!