Diodes form a critical part of any circuitry since they allow electrons to pass only in one direction, which creates the potential for logic gates. Without the isolators, reflections of the laser (or LED) inside the chip can cause interference and corruption. MIT's solution to this uses a thin film of garnet over the optical receiver, preventing feedback within the chip. Garnet's high refractive index means that any light not entering the film directly will be bounced back into the loop.

The technology makes all-optical computing a more feasible possibility. As Professor Caroline Ross told MIT News, “just like an integrated-circuit person can design a whole microprocessor, now you can do an integrated optical circuit." Additionally, because the chips are silicon-based, current manufacturing methods can still be used. As always with technologies like this, commercialization is a way off, but the technology behind it could define the next generation of communications.