In a groundbreaking development, researchers at Harvard University have constructed a computer chip that can manipulate light in ways previously thought impossible. By using a metamaterial, the researchers were able to manipulate the phase velocity of light to exceed not only the speed of light, but to become infinitely fast. The chip can deform, stretch, squeeze, and bend light without losing energy during transmission. This new technology has the potential to revolutionize the field of optics and could lead to the creation of more efficient and powerful optical circuits.
The speed of light is a fundamental constant of nature, as established by Einstein’s special theory of relativity. According to this theory, light cannot travel faster than 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum. However, researchers have recently been able to artificially slow down and even reverse the direction of light in experiments. The maximum speed of light in a vacuum is around 300 times faster than in other materials, such as cesium. But now, researchers at Harvard have broken the speed record by creating a computer chip made of metamaterial with a refractive index of zero. At this extreme limit, the wavelength in the material becomes infinitely large, and the phase is constant everywhere.
The chip is made up of a square area of a special polymer with tiny silicon pillars embedded in it. Each of these pillars is 690 nanometers high and 211 nanometers thick. Thin gold coatings are placed above and below this light-conducting layer to limit it. A silicon waveguide then directs the light beam into the metamaterial. The chip can be connected to standard components of photonic chips and conductors, allowing light to be manipulated in any way imaginable without losing energy. This breakthrough technology has the potential to revolutionize the field of optics and could lead to the creation of more efficient and powerful optical circuits.
