Monash Scientists Build 1 Chip That Generates, Steers and Reads Light for AI
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Jun 23
Monash Scientists Build 1 Chip That Generates, Steers and Reads Light for AI
3 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Jun 23
Summary
Monash University researchers built a single chip that generates, routes and reads light-based signals in one integrated device, a step they say could speed AI and quantum computing.
The chip uses atomically thin materials and engineered metasurfaces to control light’s “valley” degree of freedom, solving a long-standing valleytronics hurdle of doing all three functions on-chip.
At room temperature, the device avoids the extreme cooling many quantum systems need, improving its prospects for practical photonic computing and lower-energy data processing.
In a demonstration, the team encoded and processed 2 separate images simultaneously, showing the chip can handle multiple information streams at once.
Published in Nature Photonics, the work points toward scalable optical chips for secure communications, advanced imaging and next-generation data transmission.
In May 2026, Monash University researchers achieved a major breakthrough by developing a fully integrated valleytronic chip that can generate, direct, and read light-based information on a single device. This innovation, detailed in Nature Photonics, bridges the gap between experimental physics and practical technology by harnessing the valley degree of freedom in quantum materials to encode information. By combining light and quantum materials directly on a chip, the team overcame a long-standing bottleneck, opening new possibilities for advanced data processing and paving the way for future applications in quantum computing and optical communications.