Water acts as a 'light switch' on photonic circuits

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Francesca Intonti and her colleagues created this curved waveguide by filling the pores in photonic crystals with a water solution which provides a leak in the band gap and permits the flow of light. Credit: Intonti et al.
Francesca Intonti and her colleagues created this curved waveguide by filling the pores in photonic crystals with a water solution, which provides a “leak” in the band gap and permits the flow of light. Credit: Intonti et al.

Using water to “write” light, scientists have designed a photonic circuit inside a photonic crystal that combines several optical elements. As the optical equivalent of an electronic circuit, this design marks another step on the path to realizing all-optical devices for communication and IT applications.


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