Chinese scientists unveil world’s most powerful optical computing chip

Chinese scientists have recently unveiled an optical chip that could reshape how machines handle data. Developed at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), the chip can perform up to 2,560 trillion operations per second — matching the power of the most advanced graphical processing units available today.

According to a recent CGTN report, this breakthrough centres on a newly proposed optical computing architecture. At its heart is a reconfigurable chip that uses soliton microcomb sources — delicate beams of light split into more than 100 wavelengths. 

Each wavelength acts like a separate data stream, allowing the chip to process information in parallel without increasing in size or frequency.

"It is like transforming a single-lane highway into a super highway capable of handling a hundred vehicles in parallel," Han Xilin, one of the engineers on the project, told CTGN. This innovation boosts speed while conserving energy and physical space, solving one of computing's most stubborn problems.

Traditional optical chips operate with a single light wavelength. This new approach, however, multiplies the channels a hundredfold. The result is not only faster performance but also more efficient processing, especially in tasks like image recognition, physical simulation and artificial intelligence.

Researchers believe the chip's low-latency and high-density capabilities could be transformative for edge computing — used in systems such as drones, communication hubs, and remote sensors where fast response times are critical.

Published this week in the journal eLight, the project underscores China's growing leadership in photonic computing. The work opens new possibilities for the future of intelligent machines, powered not by electrons, but by light.