Communications of the ACM
Pitt Research Team Says Communication Technologies Including Smartphones and Laptops Could Now Be 1,000 Times Faster
University of PIttsburgh professor Hrvoje Petek
Credit: University of PIttsburgh
University of Pittsburgh researchers have demonstrated a physical basis for terahertz bandwidth, which is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and microwave light.
The researchers created a frequency comb by dividing a single color of light into a series of evenly spaced spectral lines that spans more than 100 THz bandwidth by exciting a coherent collective of atomic motions in a semiconductor silicon crystal. "The ability to modulate light with such a bandwidth could increase the amount of information carried by more than 1,000 times when compared to the volume carried with today's technologies," says Pittsburgh professor Hrvoje Petek. “Needless to say, this has been a long-awaited discovery in the field.”
The researchers determined that the amount of reflected light oscillates at 15.6 THz, the highest mechanical frequency of atoms with a silicon lattice. This oscillation caused additional change in the absorption and reflection of light, multiplying the fundamental oscillation frequency by up to seven times to generate the comb of frequencies extending beyond 100 THz.
The researchers now are investigating the coherent oscillation of electrons, which could extend the ability of harnessing light-matter interactions from the terahertz- to the petahertz-frequency range.
From University of Pittsburgh News
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