Device could improve wireless communications systems
During a thunderstorm, we all know that it is common to hear
thunder after we see the lightning. That’s because sound travels much slower
(768 miles per hour) than light (670,000,000 miles per hour).
Now, University of Minnesota engineering researchers have
developed a chip on which both sound wave and light wave are generated and
confined together so that the sound can very efficiently control the light. The
novel device platform could improve wireless communications systems using
optical fibers and ultimately be used for computation using quantum physics.