Hey SR,

Having read countless articles like this (while having a mini panic attack) I usually ask myself one or more of the following questions to put my mind at ease:

1) Is it optoelectronic? Or is it one or the other?

2) Does it use exotic materials not normally used in semi?

3) It is cryogenically frozen?

4) Where does the laser come from? (i.e. is it a monolithically formed chip or a package)

5) How many transistors did they make?

There are other questions I would ask if they passed all of the above with flying colours. (Although I think if they passed, my panic attack would take longer to subside)

In this case, it appears MIT has made possibly one transistor, which is optical only (which I guess is the point), using a very rare element cryogenically frozen to give it superconducting properties. Since the article you posted (I haven't read the one from green, yet) didn't say anything I have to assume the laser came from off chip, which means they still have the same problem IBM, Luxtera, etc. have and would require a chip package. To me, this sounds like something very interesting to work on in a lab, but it's not very practical for a tablet or superphone:)