Researchers at NIST and colleagues have developed a new optical switch that can route light between computer chips in just 20 billionths of a second, faster than any similar device. The compact switch operates at low voltages suitable for integration onto silicon chips and redirects light with minimal signal loss.
The switch combines nanoscale gold and silicon components to channel light into a miniature racetrack, alter its speed, and change its direction. It has potential applications in driverless cars, neural networks, and quantum computing due to its low energy requirements. The technology contradicts previous beliefs about the impracticality of opto-electro-mechanical switches and demonstrates a new method of light manipulation using plasmons and constructive/destructive interference.
Keywords: Photons, Quantum, Opto-electro-mechanical, Plasmons, Interference
