photonics tagged posts

Hybrid laser 3-D-view. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Twente

Researchers have developed the world’s most narrowband diode laser on a chip. This laser represents a breakthrough in the fast-growing field of photonics, and will bring applications like 5G internet and accurate GPS closer. We are slowly reaching the bounds of what is possible with electronics. That is why scientists and the private sector are committed to photonics – a key technology that makes numerous other innovations possible. This involves the deployment of photons (light particles) for transporting and processing data.

For photonic chips to function as efficiently as possible, one has to be able to properly control the light signals...

A nanophotonic incandescent light bulb demonstrates the ability to tailor light radiated by a hot object. Credit: Ognjen Ilic

How photonics can reshape the spectrum of light, and rehabilitate Edison’s light bulb along the way. The incandescent bulb is an example of a high temperature thermal emitter. It is very useful, but only a small fraction of the emitted light (and therefore energy) is used: most of the light is emitted in the infrared and in this context wasted. Now, MIT researchers describes another way to recycle light emitted at unwanted infrared wavelengths while optimizing the emission at useful visible wavelengths.

While as a proof-of-concept the research group built a more energy-efficient incandescent light bulb, the same approach could also be used to improve the performance...

This packaged electronic-photonic processor microchip under illumination reveals the chip’s primary features. The light rays emanating from the chip are drawn to show that the processor talks to the outside world using light. Credit: Glenn J. Asakawa, University of Colorado Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-12-demo-processor-ultrafast.html#jCp

Engineers have successfully married electrons and photons within a single-chip microprocessor, a landmark development that opens the door to ultrafast, low-power data crunching. The researchers packed 2 processor cores with >70 million transistors and 850 photonic components onto a 3-by-6-millimeter chip...