By Mark LaPedus – Used in communication systems, optical networks employ isolators to keep light from reflecting backwards. Isolators also absorb photons, thereby reducing a signal in a system.
All of that may be unnecessary in the future, however. MIT, Zhejiang University in China, and the University of Texas at Austin have devised a new “metamaterial” that keeps photons moving in only one direction. This, in turn, could pave the way toward chips that move data with light. more> http://tinyurl.com/c9jtgk8
- Single-photon transmitter could enable new quantum devices (theneteconomy.wordpress.com)
- New Metamaterial Channels Photons in Single Direction (azonano.com)
- Riding herd on photons: New ‘metamaterial’ prevents electromagnetic waves from reflecting backward (phys.org)