All-optical computing promises to replace sluggish electrons with photons zipping along at lightspeed in digital logic. But despite years of effort and some progress in related areas such as plasmonics, such computing has remained largely just a promise. 

All-optical computing still needs some tools to make it into a reality. One key component of this toolbox will likely be all-optical logic gates, and researchers at Aalto University in Finland announced they have been able to fabricate such gates from nanowires in way that’s easier than ever before. The scientists believe that this represents a significant step in the development of on-chip, all-optical logic components that will serve as a key element in future photonic computing systems