Researchers have said they can rescue silicon from the interconnect bottleneck that is set to put the kybosh on increases in number-crunching pace by 2010. A 'paint-on' laser will make it possible for chips to use optical communication to remove the logjam, say a team from the University of Toronto.

Their innovation, published in the journal Optics Express, uses a suspension of colloidal quantum dots, which are tiny particles of semiconductor. These nanocrystals made the blue laser source used for blu-ray DVD possible.

The Toronto team are the first to make a colloidal quantum dot laser produce invisible infrared light.

This is the wavelength used to carry information in fibre optics. Main author of the report Sjoerd Hoogland told Science Blog: "We made our particles just the right size to generate laser light at exactly this wavelength."

Integrating current bulky laser technology onto chips would be impossible, but the paint-on nanocrystal lasers could be powered by the electronics already on microchips, massively speeding up the links between microprocessor units.

It was a breeze to manufacture too. Hoogland said: "I made the laser by dipping a miniature glass tube in the paint and then drying it with a hairdryer."

The prospect is of a reprieve for the microchip industry in its current form. Other technologies like quantum computing and single-molecule processors are set to take over from silicon eventually.

Tackle the report for yourself here.®

Related stories

• Japanese scientists cage light (21 December 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/12/21/japanese_light_trap/

• Light goes faster in reverse (24 July 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/07/24/laser_metamaterial/

• Invisibility cloak moves a step closer (26 May 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/05/26/cloaking_metamaterials/

• QIT: quantum hope or quantum hype? (4 May 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/05/04/quanutm_analysis/

• Toshiba maps quantum future (24 April 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/04/24/toshiba_quantum/

• Time up for atomic clocks (24 April 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/04/24/photon_clocks/

• Rivals start to spin Blu-ray, HD DVD alternatives (31 March 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/31/next-gen_dvd_rival_roundup/

• Russian laser chap lights up US (31 March 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/31/valentin_gapontsev_interview/

• Boffins break data speed record (27 March 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/27/data_transmission_record/

• IBM plots 'chip on a molecule' (24 March 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/24/ibm_nano_chip/

• Boffins build see-through chip (21 March 2006)

  https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/21/osu_transparent_chip/