Light is much more efficient at transmitting data than electricity can through wires, but getting it to work reliably in a computer has been somewhat problematic. A team of engineers have just announced a new “optical link” device made out of silicon that is able to bend light at right angles, which is an important advancement toward replacing electric wires in computers with optics. The research was led by Jelena Vuckovic of Stanford University. The paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
"Light can carry more data than a wire, and it takes less energy to transmit photons than electrons," Vuckovic said in a press release.
The current paper builds off of the lab’s previous work, in which Vuckovic’s team developed an algorithm that allowed for necessary optical devices to be developed automatically. It also allowed them to design the nanostructures necessary to manipulate light for optical data transmission.
It was that algorithm that allowed the team to build the optical link: a very small piece of silicon with nanoscale vertical etchings. The eight-micron-long link acts like a prism, breaking down beams of light based on wavelength. The etchings are shaped so they direct the light at 90 degree angles in opposite directions, forming a T. The ability to manipulate the light in this manner is a significant step forward in optical data transmission.
The link is made out of silicon because its index of refraction (an indicator of how quickly light travels through a certain material) is 3.5. This is much slower than infrared light moves through water (1.3) or air (just about 1). The spaces between the etched lines allow the researchers to precisely manipulate how the light will be reflected and transmitted as the light passes between air and silicon.
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