Revolutionizing data centers: Penn Engineers’ breakthrough in photonic switching
Researchers have developed a photonic switch that can redirect signals in trillionths of a second with minimal power consumption.
Photonic switches used for routing the optical signals reaching data centers have been hindered by a fundamental tradeoff between size and speed: Larger switches can handle higher speeds and more data but also consume more energy, occupy more physical space, and drive up costs.
By manipulating light at the nanoscale with unprecedented efficiency, the new switch speeds up the process of getting data on and off the literal information superhighway of fiber-optic cables that encircles the globe. “This has the potential to accelerate everything from streaming movies to training AI,” says senior author Liang Feng, a professor in materials science and engineering (MSE) and in electrical and systems engineering.
The new switch relies on non-Hermitian physics, a branch of quantum mechanics that explores how certain systems behave in unusual ways, giving researchers more control over light’s behavior. “We can tune the gain and loss of the material to guide the optical signal toward the right information highway exit,” says Xilin Feng, a doctoral student in ESE and the paper’s first author. In other words, the unique physics at play allows the researchers to tame the flow of light on the tiny chip, enabling precise control over any light-based network’s connectivity.
The upshot is that the new switch can redirect signals in trillionths of a second with minimal power consumption. “This is about a billion times faster than the blink of an eye,” says Shuang Wu, a doctoral student in MSE and co-author of the paper. “Previous switches were either small or fast, but it’s very, very difficult to achieve these two properties simultaneously.”
Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.
Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.
From framework to actions: Provost John L. Jackson Jr. talks Penn Forward
In a Q&A, Provost John L. Jackson Jr. explains the relationship between the strategic framework In Principle and Practice and Penn Forward—a new University-wide process and action plan that will advance Penn forward for the next decade and beyond.
