Photonic materials produce, detect, and manipulate light. These materials are essential in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, data processing and storage, and solar cells. Because of their widespread use, there is a constant need to improve their efficiency. University of Central Florida (UCF) researchers are developing new photonic materials that could one day enable ultra-fast, light-based computing. The unusual materials, known as topological insulators, are like wires turned inside out, carrying current on the outside while insulating the interiors.
Topological insulators, according to the researchers, are important because they could be used in circuit designs with higher processing power without generating heat. This would eliminate a major issue in today’s devices: overheating.
The findings of the UCF researchers were published in the journal Nature Materials. They detailed a new approach to creating materials in the study, using a chained, honeycomb lattice design.
According to the researchers, the new photonic materials they developed overcome the shortcomings of current topological designs by providing more features and control. It also reduces power losses. They used advanced imaging techniques and numerical simulations to confirm their findings.The researchers hope that their design will lead to a shift away from traditional modulation techniques, bringing light-based computing one step closer to reality.
“Bimorphic topological insulators introduce a new paradigm shift in the design of photonic circuitry by enabling secure transport of light packets with minimal losses,” said Georgios Pyrialakos, a postdoctoral researcher at UCF and the study’s lead author.
Topological insulators, according to the researchers, could enable the use of faster photonic computers that use less energy, as well as one day lead to quantum computing, allowing processing power hundreds of millions of times faster than today’s computers.
The development of new photonic materials is critical to the advancement of information technology in the twenty-first century.
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