Nanotech Solution: Research Unveils How Edgy Light on Graphene May Lead to Single Route of Information

For a while, graphene has been a concentration of strong research in both academic and industrial backgrounds because of its unusual electrical conduction properties.

A Phys.org report said, as the slimmest material known to humans, graphene is particularly two-dimensional and has photonic and electronic properties from conventional 3D materials.

Researchers at Purdue University, including Todd Van Mechelen, Wenbo Sun, and Zubin Jacob, have found and shown in their research that the viscous fluid of graphene, the colliding electrons in solids with behavior similar to fluids, support unidirectional electromagnetic waves specifically on edge.

On the other hand, such edge waves are linked to a new topological stage of matter and signify a transition of phase in the material, not unlike the switch from solid to liquid.


New Phase of Graphene

One notable feature of this new phase of graphene is that light travels a single direction along the edge of the material and is vigorous to disorder, deformation, and imperfections.

Researchers at Purdue have attached this nonreciprocal impact to developing "topological circulations," one-way routers of indications, the tiniest in the world, that could eventually be a breakthrough for on-chip, all-optical procedure.

Essentially, circulators are a fundamental building block in the so-called integrated optical circuits. However, they have resisted miniaturization due to their bulky mechanisms and the narrow bandwidth of the existing technologies.

Also indicated in the study published in the journal, Nature Communications, topological circulations are overcoming this by being both broadband and ultra-subwavelength, enabled by an extraordinarily electromagnetic phase of matter.

Applications for such technology comprise information routing and interconnects between classical and quantum computing systems.


Quantum Computing System

According to a BBVA report, to understand how quantum computing works and quantum mechanics on which it is based, there is a need to look back to the beginning of the 20th century, "when this physical theory was originally raised."

Among other subjects of research, quantum physics started with the study of the particles of an atom, including its electrons at a microscopic scale, something that has never been done in the past.

Doctor in theoretical physics, high school teacher, and advisor to an exhibition hosted at the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona called Quantum, Arnau Riera defines the term as a conceptual change.


Classical Computing System

In the classical world, the systems' properties being studied are well defined. On the other hand, in the quantum world, this is not the case in which particles can have different values. They are not secluded subjects, and their states are weak, Riera explained.

In classical computing, the expert also said, "We know how to solve problems," because of computer language used when programming. More so, operators not feasible in bit computing can be carried out with a quantum computer.

In quantum computing, all numbers and probabilities that can be developed with the so-called N qubits are superimposed with 1,000 qubits, the exponential probabilities go far beyond those that are done in classical computing.

Related information about the graphene light project is shown Charbax's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Nanotechnology in Science Times.

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