The present on-going revolution in photonics could see its summit
with the ultimate all-optical device. Simply imagine a transparent
cube like that of Fig. 1 with a myriad of interconnections and
components created by light alone. This is our dream. Circuits
that lie on top of one another and are reconfigurable. Virtual
circuitry. No physical 'wires'. Either light itself directs and
manipulates light without any intervening fabricated components
such as optical waveguides, or light is used to write ideal optical
components and circuitry in photosensitive materials. Light controls
its own destiny.
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