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Excitons
juice up light switches
A
more efficient generation of circuits that control telecommunications light
signals could be on the way following the development of an excitonic integrated
circuit. An exciton is an electron and a hole -- a positively charged gap
where a negatively charged electron can reside -- in a briefly stable orbit
around each other. Photons enter the device and transform into excitons, which are then controlled in the same way that ordinary circuits direct the flow of electrons. Excitons are transformed back into photons at the device's output.
The more efficient optoelectronic devices promise faster communications networks.
Research paper:
Control of Exciton Fluxes in an Excitonic Integrated Circuit
Science, published online June 19, 2008
Researchers' homepages:
Butov Group
Arthur C. Gossard
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