2024-01-30 12:00:10
Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh is at the heart of a major scientific breakthrough. Researchers at this institution have developed a new method for creating optical circuits. These components are essential for the development of future technologies, including tamper-proof communications networks and ultra-fast quantum computers.
Understanding the importance of this discovery requires understanding the central role of optical circuits in modern computing. Unlike traditional circuits which use electricity, optical circuits rely on light to transmit and process information. This approach is considered a crucial development in the field of computer technology.
However, the increasing complexity of these optical circuits presents challenges in terms of manufacturing and control, thus impacting their efficiency. This is where the research of Professor Mehul Malik and his team comes into play. They explored a new way to design these circuits, by exploiting a natural phenomenon of light dispersion within optical fibers. These, thinner than a human hair, are commonly used around the world to bring the Internet into our homes and workplaces.
By controlling the way light is dispersed inside these fibers, researchers have succeeded in precisely programming optical circuits. This discovery, published in the journal Nature Physics, opens the way to considerable applications in the field of quantum technologies.
Light passing through an optical fiber placed on a classic electronic circuit.
Credit: Heriot-Watt University
Optical circuits play a crucial role in the development of these technologies, operating at the scale of atoms and photons (particles of light). Future applications envisioned include quantum computers, offering phenomenal processing power, and quantum communications networks, renowned for their tamper-proofing.
One of the major contributions of this research is the manipulation of quantum entanglement, a phenomenon where quantum particles like photons remain interconnected, even at great distances. This phenomenon is essential in many quantum applications, such as error correction in quantum computers and the most secure communications encryptions.
This research was carried out in collaboration with renowned academic institutions such as Lund University in Sweden, Sapienza University of Rome in Italy and the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
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