Light-emitting device flashes 90 billion times / second to promise 'bright' future for computers

It goes on and off 90 billion times a second! You read that right! Researchers have succeeded in developing an ultra-super fast light emitting device that turns on and off at an unthinkable speed. The Duke University researchers from Pratt School of Engineering have used semiconductor quantum dots to operate a source of light at 90 GHz frequency. This achievement paves way for the optical computing chips to be used in optical communication between microchips.

Professor Maiken Mikkelsen said that their their achievement is something what the scientific community all over the world has been trying to do for a long time. With a device that turns on and off so fast, the researchers can now develop ultra-fast switching devices.


For the short range optical communication, researchers have been planning to replace the lasers with LEDs; but it had limitations because of the slow rate of emission of fluorescent materials used. Also, it's not an efficient process and there's an added challenge of directing the photons.

The ultimate goal for the team is to integrate this technology into devices which can be turned on/off both optically and using electricity. The entire team is currently focusing on developing a single photon source which would be necessary for quantum communication.

Mikkelsen and her team is confident of creating new designer materials with the optical characteristics they desire. It's an emerging area in the field of electronics that's fascinating everyone. Read more about the research on the source link below.

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