Photonics components to practical new breakthroughs

Photonic elements appeared early, but still faced many obstacles in the practical process. Now, the opportunity to cross the threshold may have arrived.

According to the U.S. Daily Science website, U.S. scientists have used the previously developed "supermaterials" to create a new non-linear device that allows them to manipulate photons to become as arbitrary as manipulating the flow of electrons with electronic devices. Photonic elements replace the field of communications. The electronic components go one step further.

When light passes through an object, even though the light may be reflected, refracted, or weakened, the same light is still transmitted. This is known as linearity. However, some "non-linear" materials deviate from this rule of thumb. The interaction of photons and such non-linear materials will double the photon frequency, reduce the wavelength by half, and the new ray will be called the second harmonic. This nonlinearity The process is second harmonic (also known as frequency doubling).

Aleks, a graduate student in electronics and computer engineering at the Platt School of Engineering at Duke University. Rose points out that, under normal conditions, the direction of travel of the second harmonic is strictly limited by the nonlinear material used. It has been difficult to control the direction of the second harmonic in some non-linear devices and natural non-linear materials that were developed before.

Scientists at Duke University used a "supermaterial" consisting of metal and wire wrapped in glass fiber (an artificial composite structure or composite material with unusual physical properties not possessed by natural materials) to build a guide. Non-linear equipment in the direction of travel of the second harmonic.

The new device measures 6 feet by 8 feet and is about 1 foot high. It is made up of a parallel array of fiberglass materials used on circuit boards. Each piece of fiberglass is etched using a copper ring. Each copper ring has a small crack. A diode traverses it. When the light passes through the copper ring, it activates the diode, causing the copper ring to lose symmetry, and the whole device has Nonlinear. Scientists say that this device can double the frequency of incident light while allowing incident waves to reflect in the direction they want.

Optical devices can transfer information faster and more efficiently. For example, replacing the wires with optical fibers has greatly changed the face of the communications industry. Therefore, scientists hope to replace electronic components with photonic components. "Undoubtedly, the future trend in the field of communications will be photonic equipment. Photonics can be controlled by electronic equipment to control the current. This is very important. The uniqueness of nonlinear metamaterials lies in the ability to control light. It is very important in optical communications," said Rose. As early as 2006, the Duke team demonstrated for the first time that this metamaterial allows light to bypass objects and make objects invisible. In 2009, they also demonstrated that the metamaterial can work as a next-generation lens.

The research was funded by the U.S. Air Force Department of Scientific Research and related results were published in the latest edition of the Physics Review Letters.