New photonic materials could enable ultra-fast light-based computing

Photonic materials are being developed by researchers to enable powerful and efficient light-based computing

Researchers at University of Central Florida are developing new photonic materials that could one day be used to enable ultra-fast, low-power light-based computing. Unique materials called topological insulators look like wires that have been turned inside out, with the insulation on the inside and the current flowing on the outside.

In order to avoid the overheating problem faced by today’s increasingly small circuits, topological isolators could be incorporated into circuit designs to allow more processing power to be stored in a given area without generating heat.

The researchers’ most recent study, published April 28 in the journal Natural materials, showcased an all-new material creation process using a unique chained honeycomb lattice structure. The linked honeycomb pattern was laser-etched onto a piece of silica, a material often used to create photonic circuits, by the researchers.

The design’s nodes allow researchers to regulate current without bending or stretching the photonic wires, which is necessary to direct the flow of light and therefore information through a circuit.

The new photonic material overcomes the drawbacks of contemporary topology designs that offered less functionality and control while supporting much longer propagation lengths for information packets by minimizing power losses.

The researchers predict that the new design approach introduced by bimorph topological isolators will lead to a departure from traditional modulation techniques, bringing light-based computing technology closer to reality.

Topological insulators could also one day lead to[{” attribute=””>quantum computing as their features could be used to protect and harness fragile quantum information bits, thus allowing processing power hundreds of millions of times faster than today’s conventional computers. The researchers confirmed their findings using advanced imaging techniques and numerical simulations.

“Bimorphic topological insulators introduce a new paradigm shift in the design of photonic circuitry by enabling secure transport of light packets with minimal losses,” says Georgios Pyrialakos, a postdoctoral researcher with UCF’s College of Optics and Photonics and the study’s lead author.

The next steps for the research include the incorporation of nonlinear materials into the lattice that could enable the active control of topological regions, thus creating custom pathways for light packets, says Demetrios Christodoulides, a professor in UCF’s College of Optics and Photonics and study co-author.

The research was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Initiative; the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Multidisciplinary University Initiative; the U.S. National Science Foundation; The Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences division; the W. M. Keck Foundation; the US–Israel Binational Science Foundation; U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory; the Deutsche Forschungsgemein-schaft; and the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation.

Study authors also included Julius Beck, Matthias Heinrich, and Lukas J. Maczewsky with the University of Rostock; Mercedeh Khajavikhan with the University of Southern California; and Alexander Szameit with the University of Rostock.

Christodoulides received his doctorate in optics and photonics from Johns Hopkins University and joined UCF in 2002. Pyrialakos received his doctorate in optics and photonics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Greece and joined UCF in 2020.

Reference: “Bimorphic Floquet topological insulators” by Georgios G. Pyrialakos, Julius Beck, Matthias Heinrich, Lukas J. Maczewsky, Nikolaos V. Kantartzis, Mercedeh Khajavikhan, Alexander Szameit, and Demetrios N. Christodoulides, 28 April 2022, Nature Materials.
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01238-w