Comment This might actually make it (Score 5, Insightful) 55
The whole system could be made using standard microchip manufacturing machinery, Ross says. “It simplifies making an all-optical chip,” she says. The design of the circuit can be produced “just like an integrated-circuit person can design a whole microprocessor. Now, you can do an integrated optical circuit.” That could make it much easier to commercialize than a system based on different materials, Ross says. “A silicon platform is what you want to use,” she says, because “there’s a huge infrastructure for silicon processing. Everyone knows how to process silicon. That means they can set about developing the chip without having to worry about new fabrication techniques.”
It is good to see someone is coming up with an innovation that can "actually" be introduced. Seems like I read about new innovations every day on slashdot that never get off the ground because completely new manufacturing processes need to be created. Hopefully this will actually make it because it requires fewer changes by manufacturers (which can be significant barriers to innovation).
