Communications of the ACM
An Optical Traffic Cop For Rapid Communication
Koby Scheuer's plastic "switch" replaces hard-to-fabricate, expensive semiconductors in fiber optics cables.
Credit: American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University's Koby Scheuer has developed a nano-based filtering device using silicon rubber that is designed to enable faster communications over optical fibers.
The technology is a plastic-based filter that is made from nanometer-sized grooves embedded into the plastic. When used in fiber-optic cable switches, the device will make communication devices smaller, more flexible, and more powerful, says Scheuer. The device replaces semiconductor-based filters currently used in fiber-optic cables.
Scheuer says that by using a method called stamping, almost any laboratory can make optical devices out of silicon rubber. The biggest hurdle is in convincing the communications industry that polymers are stable materials, he says.
The device also can be used in the gyros of planes, ships, and rockets, or inserted in cell phones.
From American Friends of Tel Aviv University
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