Loading...
News Article

Heterostructure crystals could light the way to optical circuits

News

It may be possible to reach new levels of miniaturization, speed, and data processing with optical quantum computers, which use light to carry information. For this, we need materials that can absorb and transmit photons. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chinese scientists have introduced a new strategy for constructing photonic heterostructure crystals with tunable properties. Using a crystalline rod with stripes that fluoresce in different colors, they have developed a prototype of a logic gate.

The team led by Ze Chang and Xian-He Bu achieved success by using specially constructed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) -- lattice-like structures made of metallic "nodes" bridged by organic ligands. These structures contain cage-like cavities that can hold other molecules as "guests." In this case, the guests and a part of the ligands integrated into the lattice are matched so that the guests can transfer electrons to the ligand molecule (charge transfer). Such systems tend to fluoresce. The color of the fluorescence for a given MOF depends on the type of guest.

A further advantage of MOF structures is that their crystallization occurs through the growth of layers onto a crystallization nucleus in one preferred direction. The researchers from Nankai University, Tianjin, the Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin and Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China) were thus able to produce rod-shaped crystals. During the crystallization, they varied the types of guest molecule incorporated. This resulted in "striped" rods with separate domains that fluoresce differently. For example, they produced rods whose ends absorb UV light and fluoresce blue-green, while the center absorbs visible green light and emits red light. Because they are in direct contact, energy can be transferred between the domains, and some of the blue-green photons can be transmitted to the center portion, thereby causing it to fluoresce red. Most importantly, these rods behave as light conductors, meaning that no matter which spot is irradiated, part of the fluorescence light is transported through the entire rod to its ends.

Based on this type of crystal, the researchers developed a prototype for a logic circuit with two "entrances" and two "exits"; that is, locations where light can be stored or registered and red and/or blue-green signals generated, respectively. The researchers envision potential applications for their MOF crystals in components with integrated optical circuits, such as photonic diodes, on-chip signal processors, and optical logic gates.



Quintessent appoints Bob Nunn chief operating officer
PI to demonstrate new PIC alignment system at Photonics West
Drut launches 2500 product series with CPO for AI datacentres
III-V Epi advocates GaAs for new lasers
Marvell announces new CPO architecture for custom AI accelerators
Printing high-speed modulators on SOI
Photon IP raises €4.75m for advanced PICs
ANELLO Photonics launches Maritime Inertial Navigation System
Aeluma joins AIM Photonics as full industry member
Imec makes breakthrough with GaAs lasers on silicon
POET acquires Super Photonics Xiamen
Voyant Photonics launches affordable Carbon LiDAR
Penn State makes breakthrough in photonic switching
New nanocrystals could lead to more efficient optical computing
QCi awarded NASA contract to apply Dirac-3 photonic optimisation solver
The Netherlands launches ChipNL Competence Centre
TOPTICA to create chip-integrated lasers for quantum PIC project
NSF selects six pilot projects for National Quantum Virtual Laboratory
SiLC Technologies launches Eyeonic Trace Laser Line Scanner
Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub awarded $21.3 million CHIPS Act funding
Cambridge Graphene Centre and CORNERSTONE to participate in PIXEurope
Cost-effective lasers for extended SWIR applications
IBM unveils co-packaged optics technology for AI and datacentres
QCi announces $50 million concurrent stock offerings
CHIPS Act funding to be awarded to Coherent, Skywater, and X-Fab
ERC consolidator grant awarded for optoacoustic neural network project
Imec demonstrates InP chiplet integration on 300 mm RF silicon interposer
Ayar Labs raises $155 million for optical I/O
Celestial AI awarded 2024 Start-up to Watch by Global Semiconductor Alliance
Researchers develop “last missing piece” of silicon photonics
Quantum sensors for controlling prosthetics
UPVfab to participate in European Commission photonic chips project

×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
x
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the PIC Magazine, the PIC Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: