A photo from open sources
Having imitated microscopic structures in the wings of a butterfly, international scientific team managed to develop a new device thinner than a human hair that can make optical communications are much faster and safer.
Researchers from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia and the University of Friedrich Alexander in Nuremberg, Germany, created a photocrystal that is able to separate the left and right-polarized light.
The device of this crystal was inspired by Callophrys butterfly. Rubi, also known as “Raspberry Lymene.” This butterfly has three-dimensional nanostructures in their wings that give them a special iridescent green outline. Other insects also have in their bodies of nanostructures that give them color but Callophrys Rubi has one important difference.
“The wings of this butterfly contain a huge array intertwined nanometer spirals that form unique optical material. And it is this concept that we used to create our photonic crystalline device, “says Professor Swinburne Mark Turner.
Using 3D laser nanotechnology, researchers from Swinburne created a photonic crystal with properties that impossible to obtain in natural crystals – namely with the possibility of circular polarization. This is a miniature device. contains over 750 thousand tiny polymer nanorods.
Photonic crystal works like microscopic polarizing a beam splitter – like a device invented in 1828 Scottish scientist William Nicholas. Polarizing beam splitters, used in modern technology – for example, in telecommunications, microscopy and multimedia – made from natural crystals that work for linearly polarized light, but cannot cope with the light, polarized circularly.
“We believe we created the world’s first photonic nanocrystalline chiral beam splitter, “says Professor Swinburne Min Gu. “It has great potential for use. in areas such as optical communications, photography, computer computing and sensor building. ”
“This technology opens up new possibilities in the management of light in photonic nanodevices, and makes us one step closer to creating optical chips that can overcome the bottle problem neck to create ultra-high-speed optical networks, “says Min Gu.
Nanotechnology
