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Key Optical Transistor Technology

19.07.2013

Scientists and engineers from the Technical University of Vienna were able to control the polarization of a terahertz light beam, which is the basis for creating promising optical microcircuits.

Scientists have managed to change the polarization of a light beam (the direction of light oscillations) using a special material and an electric current. This laboratory technique has the potential to be scaled up and applied to industrial production, paving the way for the mass production of high-speed electronics that are controlled by light rather than electric current. In addition, the control of terahertz radiation can be useful not only for the production of optical computers, but also, for example, for the manufacture of scanners and medical devices.

Light can oscillate in different directions, that is, have different polarizations. This phenomenon has long been known and widely used, for example, in 3D television. Scientists from Austria for the first time managed to control the polarization of light at the micro level. An electric field applied to an ultrathin layer of telluride, mercury, allows you to arbitrarily change the polarization of light. In this case, terahertz light radiation was used, that is, the optical chip can operate at a much higher frequency than current processors with their 3-5 GHz.

One of the advantages of the Austrian invention is the very low power consumption. To change the polarization of terahertz light radiation using an electric field, a voltage of less than 1 V is required.

Thus, scientists and engineers from the Technical University of Vienna have created a technology that could revolutionize the electronics industry. Of course, modern production technologies and the principles of electronics are very firmly rooted, but let's hope that the advantages of optical transistors will eventually outweigh all the costs of reforming production.

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