Multimedia Gallery
New zero-index metamaterial
A new zero-index material made of silicon pillar arrays embedded in a polymer matrix and clad in gold film creates a constant phase of light, which stretches out in infinitely long wavelengths.
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In the 21st century, photonic devices, which use light to transport large amounts of information quickly, will enhance or even replace the electronic devices that are ubiquitous in our lives today. But theres a step needed before optical connections can be integrated into telecommunications systems and computers: Researchers need to make it easier to manipulate light at the nanoscale.
Now, a team of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has done just that by designing the first on-chip metamaterial with a refractive index of zero, meaning that the phase of light can travel infinitely fast. The researchers say this on-chip metamaterial will open the door to exploring the physics of zero index and its applications in integrated optics.
The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (grant DMR 13-60889).
To learn more, see the Harvard SEAS news story To infinity and beyond. (Date image taken: 2015; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Nov. 30, 2015)
Credit: Peter Allen, Harvard SEAS
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