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Photonics researchers report breakthrough in miniaturizing light-based chips:

Photonic integrated circuits that use light instead of electricity for computing and signal processing promise greater speed, increased bandwidth, and greater energy efficiency than traditional circuits using electricity.

[...] Using a material widely adopted by photonics researchers, the [University of] Rochester team has created the smallest electro-optical modulator yet. The modulator is a key component of a photonics-based chip, controlling how light moves through its circuits.

In Nature Communications, the lab of Qiang Lin, professor of electrical and computer engineering, describes using a thin film of lithium niobate (LN) bonded on a silicon dioxide layer to create not only the smallest LN modulator yet, but also one that operates at high speed and is energy efficient.

Journal Reference:
Mingxiao Li, Jingwei Ling, Yang He, et al. Lithium niobate photonic-crystal electro-optic modulator [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17950-7)

Original Submission