-
-
Topics:
Researchers at Duke University have developed an ultrafast light-emitting device that can turns on and off 90 billion times per second, according to a report published at Phys.org. The new technology could form the basis of optical computing.
This new kind of computing would use photons instead of electrons to process and carry data, allowing for faster computing. The technology's speed, size, and energy-efficiency are critical, because while lasers possess some of the traits necessary for this type of technology, they consume too much energy and are unwieldy for this application.
According to the report, the new speed record was set using plasmonics. How the technology works was explained as follows: “When a laser shines on the surface of a silver cube just 75 nanometers wide, the free electrons on its surface begin to oscillate together in a wave. These oscillations create their own light, which reacts again with the free electrons. Energy trapped on the surface of the nanocube in this fashion is called a plasmon. The plasmon creates an intense electromagnetic field between the silver nanocube and a thin sheet of gold placed a mere 20 atoms away. This field interacts with quantum dots—spheres of semiconducting material just six nanometers wide—that are sandwiched in between the nanocube and the gold. The quantum dots, in turn, produce a directional, efficient emission of photons that can be turned on and off at more than 90 gigahertz.”
The researchers’ work was published today in Nature Communications (open to all readers) and you can also read the synopsis in Phys.org.