Researchers have for the first time successfully demonstrated a microprocessor that uses optical connections instead of traditional electrical wires to transmit data.

Technology Review reports that researchers from MIT, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Colorado Boulder developed a prototype chip featuring more than 70 million transistors and 850 optical components.

The chip is linked to memory via optical fibers, transmitters and receivers, the publication notes, which enables incredibly fast data transfers. The prototype was able to transfer data at a rate of 300 gigabits per second. According to the researchers, that's anywhere from 10 to 50 times faster than a traditional electrical wire-based processor.

The microprocessor uses 850 optical input/output components and has a bandwidth density rated at 300 Gb/s per square millimeter, which is roughly 10 to 50 times greater than modern electronic processors currently available.