A Device for Next-Generation Optical Communication
Korean researchers have developed a device that can control the speed of light. The new device is expected to accelerate the development of next-generation optical communication equipment.
Professor Kim Teun-teun of the Center for Integrated Nanostructure Physics (CINAP) of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) announced that his team has developed a graphene-based metamaterial device that can control the speed of light, in cooperation with a research team led by Professor Min Beom-ki of KAIST.
Traveling faster than anything in the world, light is the most useful means for data transmission. However, light should be converted into electrical signals to transmit data. In this process, the speed of light is slowed down due to the limitations of electronic signal processors.
By combining graphene with a metamaterial, the researchers have developed a device that can slow down the speed of light and then accelerate it. The new device is expected to help develop next-generation optical communication devices.
A metamaterial is a material engineered to have a property that is not found in nature. Graphene is a single, tightly packed layer of carbon atoms that are bonded together in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice.