Tsinghua University researchers have developed a 3D printing technique called DISH that can produce optical structures in just 0.6 seconds. The method slashes production time for photonic chips from hours to seconds, a leap that could reshape manufacturing for AI computing and cryptocurrency mining hardware.
How DISH works
The technology, detailed by the Tsinghua team this week, uses a novel approach to print three-dimensional optical structures at unprecedented speed. Traditional fabrication of photonic chips — which use light instead of electricity to process data — can take hours per layer. DISH compresses that into a fraction of a second, though the researchers haven't disclosed the exact mechanism behind the speedup.
Photonic chips have long been touted as a next-generation solution for high-speed computing tasks, including the proof-of-work calculations that underpin Bitcoin mining. Current ASIC miners are nearing physical limits, and optical chips could offer lower latency and energy consumption. Faster, cheaper production of those chips could accelerate their adoption in mining rigs and AI accelerators. The Tsinghua team specifically cited cryptocurrency applications as a potential beneficiary of the breakthrough.
The DISH technology is still in the research phase. No timeline for commercialization has been announced, and scaling a lab technique to wafer-level production is a separate challenge. But the speed improvement — from hours to seconds — is the kind of step that moves photonic chips from theoretical promise toward practical reality. The crypto and AI hardware industries will be watching closely for the next paper or prototype.
