"I'm talking about optoelectronic computers!" Huang He said with a smile.
"Optoelectronic computers!" Ni Guangnan was taken aback, then shook his head. "You're planning to develop a computer that uses light pulses to replace electronic computation?"
"You're being too idealistic. Your idea might not be wrong, and it could indeed break the limits of future electronic computers. But this technology is too difficult. The technical challenges we face now are as immense as trying to develop modern electronic computers starting in 1990. It would take hundreds of years to achieve a technical breakthrough. With that time, we'd be better off directly advancing current chip technology!" Ni Guangnan shook his head, convinced that Huang He was completely indulging in wishful thinking.
"Teacher, you're talking about optical computers, I'm talking about optoelectronic computers!" Huang He said.
"Is there a difference between the two? Don't think that just because an optical computer is powered by electricity, it becomes an optoelectronic computer!" Ni Guangnan made a dry joke.
"Teacher, one thing must be acknowledged: future computers will absolutely not be able to function without networks. Networks are standard for all computers!" Huang He said.
"Yes, I admit that. But no matter how fast the network is, it cannot affect the computing power of the computer itself. If your computer chip's computing power is insufficient, what's the use of a faster network?" Ni Guangnan retorted.
"As long as the network is fast enough, why should the computer perform calculations itself? Isn't it better to obtain the calculation results directly through the network?" Huang He countered.
"..." Ni Guangnan was stunned. He looked at Huang He in shock, and a light suddenly flashed in his mind, which had been as dark as night. He vaguely understood what Huang He meant.
"Teacher, have you actually noticed something? That current computer computing power is excessively wasted?"
"Now, a medium-sized enterprise typically has around 100 computers, and all these computers are used for office work. This only allows them to utilize less than half of their chip's computing power."
"Personal computers are even more exaggerated. Unlike enterprises or official organizations that prioritize cost when purchasing computers, individual users, as long as their economic situation allows, will always seek the highest computing power. However, they might buy these computers for playing games like Dou Dizhu or solitaire. There is a significant surplus of computing power."
"In another ten to twenty years, as computer chips further develop, the computing power of a single chip might be ten, a hundred, or even a thousand times what it is now. But the growth in computing power needed by users might only be a few times... Of course, this doesn't include the demands of gaming or computing studios. But for the vast majority of personal computer users, their computing power is redundant and not used on a daily basis!"
"Isn't that extremely wasteful?" Huang He asked with a smile.
"You mean you plan to connect these computers through the network, allowing users to utilize the computing power of other computers via the network?" Ni Guangnan's mouth fell open. He had already guessed Huang He's intention, but this idea was simply too outrageous!
"That's more or less the idea, but not entirely!" Huang He smiled. "In my plan for optoelectronic computers, the computer itself only needs to be equipped with a mid-range, or even low-range, chip, capable of displaying data acquired from the network. Essentially, it would function as a display with computing capabilities."
"This is the electrical component of the optoelectronic computer."
"The optical component of the optoelectronic computer is for manufacturing ultra-high-efficiency optical cables. The technology of using light pulses to transmit network signals is already mature. If we invest capital and go all out, we can build a completely new generation of optical cables in just a few years. The data transmission efficiency of these optical cables will be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of times faster than current broadband!"
"Especially with the advent of the marvelous material, graphene, I believe this technology's development can be further advanced! This is the optical component of the optoelectronic computer. The computer users hold in their hands is essentially just a display, and all the computing power they need can be obtained through the network!"
"But computing power cannot appear out of thin air," Ni Guangnan said. "If everyone uses computers like yours, where will the computing power come from?"
"We will provide it!" Huang He said with a slight smile. "The reason why chip lithography machines have increasingly stringent requirements now is that everyone is trying to fit a chip with sufficient computing power, while also reducing heat generation and power consumption, into a small computer chassis."
"But this is actually not cost-effective. I believe it's foolish for chips to be constrained by space. Why can't we create a chip that's as large as a television? With current lithography technology, we could create chips with incredibly terrifying computing power on such a large surface."
"Of course, this is just an idea. Even if it cannot be realized in the short term, we can manufacture computing power in a manner similar to supercomputers. So-called supercomputers are essentially countless chips connected together for computation, thereby increasing computing power!"
"The computing power of today's highest-end chips is roughly equivalent to five mid-range chips, but their price is 20 times higher. We could connect twenty mid-range chips together to achieve the computing power of four high-end chips, wouldn't that be more cost-effective?"
"Then, we can sell this computing power to our users. They can purchase computing power for their computers from our supercomputers through monthly subscriptions or pay-per-computing-power services. I believe this is an option that many enterprises and individuals cannot refuse. They wouldn't have to spend tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan to configure a top-tier computer. Even by purchasing our cheapest computer, they can equip it with the world's most powerful computing power, as long as they can afford a small fee of just 1 yuan per hour for computing power. That's enough!" Huang He said with a smile.
"This is what I envision for optoelectronic computers: a combination of personal display terminals, optical networks, and our super computing centers. And I am very optimistic about current wireless communication networks. 3G networks are already mature, and 4G networks are in preliminary research. We can start research directly from 5G networks. Then, wireless networks will also be able to achieve speeds comparable to fixed broadband. At that time, a mobile phone in hand can also obtain almost unlimited computing power from our computing power centers through our network. Then, who in this world can resist our Jiangnan Optoelectronics' technology?"
"In fact, my plan is already in operation. Our current server production center is, in essence, preparation for our future computing power center. Each server is a unit of the computing power center. With countless servers connected together, our computing power center will emerge triumphantly in the future."
"..." Ni Guangnan was completely speechless. He looked at Huang He as if he were looking at a monster, as if asking how he came up with such a perverted development path, and that it had already been silently implemented, leaving him, an old man, completely in the dark.
In reality, this wasn't Huang He's original idea. It was the concept of cloud computing that he had developed when China faced technological blockades from certain countries in the future.
It's just that Huang He didn't want to use the concept of "cloud" created by others. So he created a brand new term, "optoelectronic computer," himself.
"But..." Ni Guangnan, while finding the idea brilliant, couldn't help but retort, "This is a shortcut. We will still need faster chip technology in the future. Your optoelectronic computer might ruin the development of our high-end computers!"
"I know that. That's why Jiangnan will not cease its research into future computer development. I will continue to invest funds and focus on both true optical computers and quantum computers. It's only 100 years; with my wealth, living to 100 years old is not a problem. I believe we will see the emergence of true optical computers or quantum computers by then, and we will be the new kings!"
"Currently, this optoelectronic computer is just a transitional product to deal with the immediate situation!" Huang He said.
"Alright, I believe you will continue to invest in research. But there's still a problem. Even if you want to build something like a computing power center that doesn't require high-end chips, you still need terminals with efficient and energy-saving chips, right? This still requires lithography technology. We at least need a 200-nanometer lithography machine, otherwise, your goals cannot even begin!" Ni Guangnan sighed, and the problem returned to the initial point.
"I know that. Is ASML the only one in the world selling lithography machines? Do others not sell them?" Huang He retorted.
"Of course, Toshiba and Nikon in Japan also have their own lithography machines for sale, and their technology is even more advanced than ASML's. But they are expensive, costing a full 3 million US dollars more per unit. If, as you say, the advent of immersion lithography machines completely crushes the prices of dry lithography machines, then wouldn't we be exploited even more severely!" Ni Guangnan said.
"Prices can be negotiated!" Huang He shrugged and sighed. "Originally, I planned to visit France, but it seems I'll have to fly directly to Japan tomorrow."