By using a tiny silicon device, scientists at the American computer company IBM have successfully slowed down light to 1/300 of its normal speed.
This device, known as a crystal waveguide, may in the future help in the development of computers that use light instead of electricity for communication. Such computers would consume only a fraction of the energy compared to current models.
Light travels at 300,000 km/s, but it can be slowed down in certain materials that exhibit dispersion close to resonance. In preliminary experiments, researchers designed various machines to slow down the speed of light in the laboratory.
These experiments, which cool light using ultra-cold atomic clouds, require large equipment. Scientists at IBM report that their light-slowing device is the first to be made with industrial materials and has commercialization potential.
The crystal waveguide, measuring less than half a centimeter, is made from silicon using conventional chip fabrication processes. By heating this device, scientists can control the speed of light for about 100 billionths of a second.
This achievement could one day aid in the creation of optical computers, according to Yurii Vlasov, a physicist at IBM’s Watson Research Center. In computing systems, slowing down light pulses can transmit data very quickly. Harnessing the phenomenon of slow light has potential applications ranging from optical data storage to optical data transmission.
The optical device transmits data using photons, the smallest particles of light. More importantly, this optical device generates less heat, eliminating the issues of heat and energy consumption associated with modern computers.
KHÁNH NHẬT (According to Xinhuanet)
