Nature Photonics: Light Source for Quicker Computer Chips
April 19, 2016 | Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Worldwide growing data volumes make conventional electronic processing reach its limits. Future information technology is therefore expected to use light as a medium for quick data transmission also within computer chips. Researchers under the direction of KIT have now demonstrated that carbon nanotubes are suited for use as on-chip light source for tomorrow’s information technology, when nanostructured waveguides are applied to obtain the desired light properties. The scientists have now presented their results in Nature Photonics.
On the large scale, data transmission by light has long become a matter of routine: Glass fiber cables as light waveguides transmit telephone and internet signals, for instance. For using the advantages of light, i.e., speed and energy efficiency, also on the small scale of computer chips, researchers of KIT have made an important step from fundamental research towards application. By the integration of smallest carbon nanotubes into a nanostructured waveguide, they have developed a compact miniaturized switching element that converts electric signals into clearly defined optical signals.
“The nanostructures act like a photonic crystal and allow for customizing the properties of light from the carbon nanotube,” Felix Pyatkov and Valentin Fütterling, the first authors of the study of KIT’s Institute of Nanotechnology, explain. “In this way, we can generate narrow-band light in the desired color on the chip.” Processing of the waveguide precisely defines the wavelength at which the light is transmitted. By engravings using electron beam lithography, the waveguides of several micrometers in length are provided with finest cavities of a few nanometers in size. They determine the waveguide’s optical properties. The resulting photonic crystals reflect the light in certain colors, a phenomenon observed in nature on apparently colorful butterfly wings.
As novel light sources, carbon nanotubes of about 1 micrometer in length and 1 nanometer in diameter are positioned on metal contacts in transverse direction to the waveguide. At KIT, a process was developed, by means of which the nanotubes can be integrated specifically into highly complex structures. The researchers applied the method of dielectrophoresis for deposition of carbon nanotubes from the solution and their arrangement vertically to the waveguide. This way of separating particles using inhomogeneous electric fields was originally used in biology and is highly suited to deposit nanoscaled objects on carrier materials. The carbon nanotubes integrated into the waveguide act as a small light source. When electric voltage is applied, they produce photons.
The compact electricity/light signal converter presented now meets the requirements of the next generation of computers that combine electronic components with nanophotonic waveguides. The signal converter bundles the light about as strongly as a laser and responds to variable signals with high speed. Already now, the optoelectronic components developed by the researchers can be used to produce light signals in the gigahertz frequency range from electric signals.
Among the leading researchers involved in the project were Ralph Krupke, who conducts research at the KIT Institute of Nanotechnology and at the Institute of Materials Science of TU Darmstadt, Wolfram H.P. Pernice, who moved from the KIT to the University of Münster one year ago, and Manfred M. Kappes, Institute of Physical Chemistry and Institute of Nanotechnology of KIT. The project was funded by the Science and Technology of Nanosystems (STN) programme of the Helmholtz Association. It is aimed at studying nanosystems of unique functionality and the potential of materials of a few nanometers in structural size. The Volkswagen Foundation financed a Ph.D. student position for the research project. In addition, the project was supported by the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMF) platform.
Suggested Items
Revolutionizing Sustainable Energy: Georgia Solar Companies Partner with Georgia Power to Unveil New Parking Deck Solar Array
04/19/2024 | BUSINESS WIREThree Georgia-based solar companies have joined together to design, build and construct an innovative solar array atop the parking deck at Georgia Power’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Groundbreaking Ceremony Marks the Beginning of a New Era for Newccess Industrial; The Construction of the MINGXIN Building
04/12/2024 | Newccess IndustrialOn a clear and sunny day in March, the groundbreaking ceremony for the MINGXIN Building took place in Shenzhen, China. This moment marked the official commencement of construction for a project that will reshape the semiconductor materials industry.
Sondrel Poised to Support the Evolution of Intelligent Cars with Ultra-Complex Chips
04/08/2024 | SondrelAccording to Sondrel, a leading provider of ultra-complex chips, the designing of Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) is changing the automotive ecosystem, including new methodologies and technology approaches that could significantly reduce costs and shorten time to market for advanced features.
Creators of SMT UHDI Test Board Vehicle Discuss this Important Project
04/04/2024 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Chrys Shea of Shea Engineering and Altium’s David Haboud educate us on the latest revision of the SMT test board for UHDI testing, presented at the SMTA UHDI Symposium on March 26 in Arizona. Chrys was involved in the original SMT test board, introduced roughly five years ago. She and David discuss recreating the test board to be appropriate for UHDI, the genesis and history of this project, and why industry members should make use of it to benchmark their processes.
Smartkem Commences Project with RiTdisplay
03/22/2024 | PRNewswireSmartkem, the developer of a disruptive type of organic transistor that has the potential to drive a new generation of displays, today announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with RiTdisplay Corp. (RiTdisplay), a leading developer of optoelectronic solutions, visual displays and passive-matrix OLED (PMOLED) displays, for the manufacture of a new type of active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display.