Absolute quantum speed limit for electronics calculated

Optoelectronics are the fastest devices ever known, and until now no upper limit was set for their speed, but it was known that they could be fast within the limits of quantum physics. Now a group of researchers have announced they’ve set the upper limit for how fast optoelectronics can be.

Peak speed of electronics

A team of researchers from the Technical University of Vienna, Graz University of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics has calculated the ultimate speed that optoelectronics can achieve within the limits of the laws of physics.

In experiments using semiconductor materials and lasers, the team struck the material with an ultra-short laser pulse, shifting electrons to a higher energy state and allowing them to move freely. Then, with a slightly longer second laser pulse, an electric current was created by moving in a certain direction.

Using this developed technique with complex computer simulations, the team concluded that the upper speed limit that optoelectronic systems can reach should be a Petahertz.

Research Joachim Burgdörfer, one of his team, states that while approximately one Petahertz is an upper limit for controlled optoelectronic processes, other technological hurdles will arise in producing optoelectronics with these speeds.