From electrons to photons: Designing chips that run on light

For more than half a century, the relentless march of electronic computing has been driven by Moore's Law—the observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years. This predictable pattern has powered the digital revolution, enabling everything from smartphones to supercomputers. Yet today, we stand at a critical inflection point. Moore's Law is approaching its physical limits as transistors shrink to atomic scales, where quantum effects disrupt performance and manufacturing costs skyrocket. Some forecasters, including Gordon Moore himself, predict that Moore's Law will end by around 2025.

As we race toward the end of the semiconductor roadmap, the industry faces unprecedented challenges. Modern electronic chips generate heat fluxes as high as 10-100 W/cm², with next-generation systems potentially exceeding 1000 W/cm². About 55% of electronic equipment failure is related to high temperatures, and each 10°C increase in temperature results in a 50% decrease in system reliability. The fundamental limitations of electronic computing—heat generation, power consumption, and the finite speed of electrons—are no longer theoretical concerns but present-day realities constrain...