Graphene based device promises faster, smaller chips
1 min read
Faster, smaller and less power hungry memory devices could soon be on the way thanks to researchers at MIT, who have developed a system that can guide plasmonic waves at ultra short wavelengths.
The team's initial proof of concept device uses a small piece of graphene sandwiched between two layers of a ferroelectric material called lithium niobateto to make simple, switchable plasmonic waveguides. These waveguides are oscillations of electrons confined at interfaces between materials; in the new system the waves operate at terahertz frequencies.
The researchers say the device could provide a new way to construct interconnected devices that use light waves, such as fibre optic cables and photonic chips, with electronic wires and devices. Currently, such interconnection points often form a bottleneck that slows the transfer of data and adds to the number of components needed.
"Our system allows waves to be concentrated at much smaller length scales, which could lead to a tenfold gain in the density of components that could be placed in a given area of a chip," said lead researcher Dafei Jin.
