Physicists at the National University of Australia (ANU) have created small transparent slides (Nanoparticles control light like traffic signs) that can create two very different images depending on the direction in which light passes through them.
As the light passes through the slide, a picture of Australia appears, but as you rotate the slide over and over, a picture of the Sydney Opera House appears. The few images created are just one example of the many untapped possibilities.
The ability to create two very different images is made possible by the ability of ANU scientists to control the direction in which light can and cannot move at the nanoscale. Advances can pave the way for new light-based devices (Nanoparticles control light like traffic signs) that could lead to a faster, cheaper and more reliable Internet. It can also serve as the foundation of many of tomorrow’s technologies.
The new technology, developed in collaboration with colleagues from China, Germany and Singapore, uses nanoparticles, of which just over 12,000 can fit in human hair. These small particles are arranged in unique patterns on slides.
“Particles control the flow of light as traffic signs controlling traffic on a busy road by manipulating the direction in which the light may or may not move,” said project leader Dr. Sergey Crutch. “Some particles let light flow only from left to right, others from right to left, or the path may be blocked in both directions.”
Dr Lei Wang of the University of Southeast China said: “Although the purpose of these films is more artistic, they show the potential for this new technology.
“In real-world applications, these nanoparticles can be assembled into complex systems that control the flow of light in a useful way – such as a next-generation communications infrastructure.”
According to Dr. Kruk, the ability to control the flow of light at the nanoscale ensures that light “goes where it belongs and does not go where it has”.
“We use a light to exchange a lot of information. When you make a video call, say from Australia to Europe, your voice and image turn into short pulses of light that travel thousands of miles of fiberglass on continents and oceans.” “Said Dr. Kruk from the Center for Nonlinear Physics ANU.
“Unfortunately, when we use current light-based technology to exchange information, there can be many parasitic effects. Light may scatter or reflect, compromising your communication.
“By ensuring that light flows exactly where it needs to go, we can solve many of today’s technology problems.”
Although devices known as optical isolators are available on the market that can control the flow of light, this technology has no disadvantages.
“Optical isolators are essential for many cutting-edge light-based technologies, such as powerful lasers and ultra-fast optical communication networks, but they are large in size and also expensive and require a wider deployment of these components,” said Dr Kruk.
“On the contrary, our devices are designed with nanofabrication technology. This allows the part size to be reduced to less than a thousand to a millimeter and production costs to be reduced to a fraction of just one Australian dollar. “Currently, there is a significant difference between an optical insulator and the first generation of our transparent slides. Our slides change the color of the light, or in other words, the frequency with which the light wave propagates. It oscillates while the optical insulator is not.
“We are now working on the second generation of this technology, which will control the flow of light in the same way while maintaining its color.”
According to Dr. Kruka, the progress of many technologies tomorrow will strongly depend on our ability to control light on a small scale.
“The widespread deployment of small components that can control the flow of light can bring about technological and societal changes, such as those that have occurred in the past due to the development of small components that control the flow of electricity, known as diodes and transistors. “he said.
“Controlling the flow of electricity at the nanoscale is what modern computers and smartphones bring us in the end. So it’s exciting to see the potential of our emerging light flow control technology.
