If computers ditched their microelectronics for beams of light, the systems could potentially function quicker, increase energy efficiency, and weigh less. Fiber optic cables are already employing a form of this technology, but they’re too large to make the jump into computers.
A team from Vanderbilt University is garnering a device that could solve the issue at hand. It has two main parts—one is a bowtie-shaped structure, while the other is a funnel. When measured by a scanning near field optical microscope, the funnel strongly and almost indefinitely conducts light.
The points of the bowtie connect by only 12 nanometers. For some perspective, the diameter of a human hair settles in at 100,000 nanometers, according to Vanderbilt University.
ACS Photonics featured the researchers’ theory 2 years ago. Since then they collaborated with an IBM silicon photonics team on a mission to create a device to prove their idea.
“Light travels faster than electricity and doesn’t have the same heating issues as the copper wires currently carrying the information in computers,” says Professor Sharon Weiss, Cornelius Vanderbilt endowed chair and professor of electrical engineering, physics, and materials science and engineering.
“What is really special about our new research is that the use of the bowtie shape concentrates the light so that a small amount of input light becomes highly amplified in a small region. We can potentially use that for low power manipulation of information on computer chips,” Weiss adds.
Where did the research get its start? Look no further than Maxwell’s equations, which outline how light propagates in space and time. Using this a stepping stone, Weiss and her Ph.D. student Shuren Hu made the bowtie structure by combining “a nanoscale air slot surrounded by silicon with a nanoscale silicon bar surrounded by air…,” according to Vanderbilt University.
For now, the researchers will continue their efforts to streamline the device and investigate its role in next-gen computer platforms.
To learn more, watch the video below.
