Researchers create a nanoscale light switch operating 10,000 times faster than electronic transistors, opening possibilities for ultrafast computing, optical sensors, and quantum technologies.
Modern computing is reaching the limits of conventional electronics. As data volumes and processing demands grow, electronic transistors are struggling to keep up. For applications from high-speed computing to quantum technologies and advanced sensors, faster components are essential. Researchers are now turning to light itself to break these limits, creating devices that operate far beyond the speed of electrons.
An international team from University of Oldenburg, collaborating with researchers from the University of Cambridge, Politecnico di Milano, and the Technical University of Berlin has developed a nanostructured light switch that can operate up to 10,000 times faster than conventional electronic transistors.
By combining a silver plate etched with nanoscale grooves and an ultrathin semiconductor layer of tungsten disulphide just 3 atomic diameters thick, the team created an active metamaterial capable of manipulating light in entirely new ways. The switch works through exciton-plasmon polaritons, hybrid quantum states of light and matter. When light strikes the nanostructure, it is stored on the surface for around 70 femtoseconds, allowing researchers to control the material’s reflectivity using an external laser pulse. Early experiments achieved up to a 10% change in reflected light brightness. 2-dimensional electronic spectroscopy was used to capture these ultrafast interactions, providing insights at femtosecond intervals.
The breakthrough could dramatically increase information transfer rates in optical data processing. It also has potential applications in chip production, optical sensors, and quantum computing. By tailoring and optimising these active metamaterials, researchers aim to translate this quantum-level control into practical devices.
Prof Dr Christoph Lienau from University of Oldenburg who led this research work, says, “Our results are of great interest for realizing ultra-fast light switches on the nanoscale,” With further material optimization, these metamaterials could pave the way for next-generation computing and communication technologies.
