{"id":233691,"date":"2026-03-20T03:15:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T08:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/topology-helps-build-more-robust-photonic-networks"},"modified":"2026-03-20T03:15:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T08:15:39","slug":"topology-helps-build-more-robust-photonic-networks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/topology-helps-build-more-robust-photonic-networks","title":{"rendered":"Topology helps build more robust photonic networks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/topology-helps-build-more-robust-photonic-networks3.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Penn-led researchers have shown for the first time that multiple, information-carrying light signals can be safely guided through chip-based, reconfigurable networks using topology, the esoteric branch of mathematics that says donuts and mugs are identical. Because topological properties remain stable even when objects are deformed\u2014hence the field equating mugs and donuts, since both have one opening\u2014the advance could help make light-based technologies for computing and communications more powerful and reliable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe already knew how to guide light using topology,\u201d says Liang Feng, Professor in Materials <i>Science<\/i> and Engineering (MSE) with a secondary appointment in Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE) within Penn Engineering and senior author of a study in <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41567-026-03172-z\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Nature Physics<\/i><\/a> describing the result. \u201cBut we had never been able to guide multiple, concurrent signals before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That opens the door to building networks of chips that communicate using light while taking advantage of the robustness topology provides. \u201cSignals guided by these principles can be extremely reliable,\u201d says Feng. \u201cIt\u2019s like building a highway for light where even large potholes have no effect on traffic\u2014it\u2019s as if the defects simply aren\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Penn-led researchers have shown for the first time that multiple, information-carrying light signals can be safely guided through chip-based, reconfigurable networks using topology, the esoteric branch of mathematics that says donuts and mugs are identical. Because topological properties remain stable even when objects are deformed\u2014hence the field equating mugs and donuts, since both have one [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":427,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1523,38,2229,1491],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computing","category-engineering","category-mathematics","category-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/427"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}