May 18 2010
A group comprising of scientists and engineers is making significant steps towards the deployment of nanolasers that offer solutions to enhance the computers’ performance and accelerate access to the internet. This group is led by Cun-Zheng Ning, professor of School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, a division of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Engineers are striving hard to produce smaller lasers as it would allow the devices to have small electronic units. Higher number of lasers in these units will make the devices function even faster.
The lasers’ size in a single dimension, for instance, thickness, was assumed to be confined to one-half of the wavelength. The present theory tells that it is impossible to create a semiconductor laser smaller than 250 nm or smaller than the diffraction limit for communications gadgets.
According to Ning, ASU and Eindhoven’s research teams reveal that there are methods that oppose this theory. According to him, in metals, the excited electrons can limit light in a laser to sizes that are smaller than the diffraction limit. Ultimately, a laser of the size of one quarter of the wavelength or less is achievable. He also noted that for the first time someone has proved that the limit to the nanolaser’s size can be opposed, and it creates new solutions for enhancing single molecule detection, medical imaging and integrated communications devices.
In order to achieve this, small lasers should work along with electronic circuits have to give rise to the so-called “data highways made of light”.
The contribution of Ning to attain “the dream of optical computing” is mentioned in a Science magazine edition.
Source: http://asunews.asu.edu//