What if computers could run a million times faster than today’s best processors—using nothing but light?
That’s what a team led by researchers at the University of Arizona is working toward. They’ve created what they’re calling the world’s fastest phototransistor—a device that operates at petahertz speeds, or a million billion cycles per second.
Their secret? Graphene and ultrashort laser pulses. These pulses, each lasting less than a trillionth of a second, allow electrons to “tunnel” through barriers almost instantly—a weird and powerful quantum effect. The researchers observed this tunneling in real time, something that could pave the way for ultrafast light-based computing.
“We expected to see certain effects,” said lead researcher Mohammed Hassan. “But the real magic came from the surprise: electrons bypassing barriers so quickly, we could barely track it.”
To make it work, the team modified a standard graphene phototransistor by adding a special silicon layer. Then, using a laser that flashes at 638 attoseconds (that’s one-quintillionth of a second), they turned it into a quantum transistor operating at petahertz speed—all in normal room conditions.
That ambient operation is key. It means this tech could eventually be scaled for real-world devices, not just lab experiments. Hassan’s team is now working with Tech Launch Arizona to commercialize the breakthrough and make it compatible with existing chip tech.
He’s optimistic: “We hope to see this on microchips soon. It could transform everything from AI to health care, chemistry, and even space research.”
The full study appears in Nature Communications.
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