Current Events #1

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Scottish researchers make optical computer breakthrough

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland say they have come a step closer to manufacturing novel photonic computing components by demonstrating that a compound employed in touchscreen 
called aluminum zinc oxide reacts to light when simultaneously struck with ultra-fast laser pulses of different hues. "Each color can induce strong and ultra-fast alteration on both the transparency of the material and the speed at which light propagates into it," notes Heriot-Watt professor Marcello Ferrera. He also observed behavior that could have ramifications for the design and fabrication of optical computing and telecommunication devices. "The induced alterations, which are typically opposite in sign, can be algebraically summed up one to another," Ferrera says. "If the material becomes more transparent with one color and more absorptive with the other, it will not show any appreciable alteration when the optical stimuli occur simultaneously." Ferrera notes his team's findings point the way toward "the full miniaturization of photonic components.

Dr Ferrera believes that this discovery could have an immediate impact for the fabrication of novel photonic components. She stated the following, "We discovered that we can drastically and reversibly alter the optical properties of the material by using laser light with different colours. Each colour can induce strong and ultra-fast alteration on both the transparency of the material and the speed at which light propagates into it."

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