光学电脑是指利用光脉冲替代电子信号制作的电脑。这些光脉冲信号可以用红外线或可见光。由于电流会令电脑发热，采用光脉冲的一个好处，就是可以降低电脑的发热量而无需牺牲其计算性能。过度的热，可令电脑损坏。而一但光学电脑普及，其速度可达现今电脑的十倍。

美国万国商业机器公司（IBM）在2007年12月6日宣布，成功将电子信号转化成为光脉冲，有关技术可令超级电脑的体积大为缩小，有助超级电脑发展。

IBM在《光学快讯》期刊中，宣布成功研制出一种体积细小的电子光学调幅器，体积较现时一般超级电脑采用的硅光子调幅细一百至一千倍。科学家表示，电子光学调幅器将来可以安装入电脑的中央处理器芯片内，令超级电脑的体积大为缩小。他指出，新技术好比在超级电脑内铺设一套光纤网络，利用光学技术取代电线，可令各个核心处理器之间的发送速度，加快一百倍，而耗用的能量更大幅减低。

Optical or photonic computing uses photons produced by lasers or diodes for computation. For decades, photons have promised to allow a higher bandwidth than the electrons used in conventional computers.

Most research projects focus on replacing current computer components with optical equivalents, resulting in an optical digital computer system processing binary data. This approach appears to offer the best short-term prospects for commercial optical computing, since optical components could be integrated into traditional computers to produce an optical-electronic hybrid. However, optoelectronic devices lose 30% of their energy converting electronic energy into photons and back; this conversion also slows the transmission of messages. All-optical computers eliminate the need for optical-electrical-optical (OEO) conversions.