New materials for integrated optics
New materials with capabilities beyond silicon.
Strong interactions between light and matter
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Making light interact with light
What if you had a microchip that, by using particles of light instead of electrons, could process information at the speed of light? Easier said than done.
So, what's the problem? Well, light is made up of photons, much like electricity is made up of electrons. Whereas the charge of electrons naturally repels other electrons, photons cannot "feel" other photons directly.