Silicon photonics promises to reduce consumption and improve the performance of computers. To abandon the flow of electrons and switch to photons, it is necessary to somehow harmonize the interaction of photons with chip materials and develop many new ways to control them. But first of all, it is necessary to increase the energy density of “light”, which scientists from China managed to do, slowing it down with minimal losses.

In one of the last issues of the magazine Nano Letters A group of researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported that they have created a metamaterial that can slow down light by 10,000 times with a 20% loss compared to previous attempts. This means that light passes through the chip (channel) with less absorption and less scattering. This multilayer increases energy efficiency and reduces heat production, while the increase in energy density due to the effect of slowing down light provides levers that tangibly control the light signal; This could already be used in applied tasks, the researchers say.

Scientists managed to achieve such a result with the help of a specially configured surface. 100 nm silicon discs were placed sequentially on it in the form of a periodic lattice structure. They played the role of resonators that changed the amplitude and phase of the input signal. At the same time, an important property of the metamaterial was the ability to “push” photons through the material to the surface, so there was almost no absorption. In addition, the single photons scattered in the process were directed to the desired direction with the help of neighboring structures, which reduced losses and allowed more complete use of the light (signal).

“Using metasurface technology, photonic chips can be as thin as stickers or building blocks, allowing them to be functionally stacked on top of each other. – tell the developers. “Performance can be greatly improved by using the slow motion effect.”