| Liquid crystal
coating controls light
A material that
combines a liquid crystal with silicon could one day serve as the
foundation for computer chips that rely on light signals instead of
electric currents.
References:
Busch, K., and
S. John. 1999. Liquid-crystal photonic-band-gap materials: The tunable
electromagnetic vacuum. Physical Review Letters 83(August):967.
Further Readings:
1996. Tilting at
LCDs. Science News 149(June 1):348.
Lipkin, R. 1996.
New Molecules harness the energy of light. Science News 149(April
6):212.
______. 1994.
Cesium atoms for optical computers. Science News 146(Oct. 1):214.
Peterson, I. 1997.
Ringing up a microscopic light switch. Science News 151(June
21):380.
______. 1995.
Breathing time for liquid crystal states. Science News 147(March
25):182.
______. 1994.
Scratching a polymer to guide light waves. Science News 146(July
23):53.
______. 1994.
Photonic crystals in metal. Science News 146(July 16):47.
______. 1993. A
novel architecture for excluding photons. Science News 144(Sept.
25):199.
Wu, C. 1997. Holey
device traps light for lasers, filters. Science News 152(Nov.
15):310.
______. 1997. Gazing into crystal balls. Science
News 151(April 12):224.
______. 1997. Bacteria give new meaning to ‘computer
bug.’ Science News 151(March 8):140.
______. 1996.
Light gets the bends in a photonic crystal. Science News 150(Nov.
16):309.
Sources:
Sajeev John
University of Toronto
Department of Physics
60 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7
Canada
Web site: http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/people_f.html
Eli Yablonovitch
University of California, Los Angeles
Engineering Department
Box 951594
420 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1594
Web site: http://www.ee.ucla.edu/labs/photon
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 6, August 7, 1999, p. 87. Copyright © 1999,
Science Service. |