References & Sources

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.