'Metamaterials,' quantum dots show promise for new technologies [View all]

[Swede]

Not to be confused with the meta-discussion forum.


The metamaterial - layers of silver and titanium oxide and tiny components called quantum dots - dramatically changes the properties of light. The light becomes "hyperbolic," which increases the output of light from the quantum dots.

Such materials could find applications in solar cells, light emitting diodes and quantum information processing far more powerful than today's computers.

"Altering the topology of the surface by using metamaterials provides a fundamentally new route to manipulating light," said Evgenii Narimanov, a Purdue University associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Findings were detailed in a research paper published April 13 in the journal Science.

Such metamaterials could make it possible to use single photons -- the tiny particles that make up light -- for switching and routing in future computers. While using photons would dramatically speed up computers and telecommunications, conventional photonic devices cannot be miniaturized because the wavelength of light is too large to fit in tiny components needed for integrated circuits.

http://phys.org/news/2012-05-metamaterials-quantum-dots-technologies.html