A group of researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and elsewhere has designed a nanoantenna — a device which is 100 times thinner than a human hair — that promises ultra-fast rendering of high-definition graphics on gaming consoles. The device is described in a paper published in the journal Science Advances.
Scheme of a waveguide-integrated plasmonic nanoantenna for mode-selective polarization (de)multiplexing. The device couples light of orthogonal polarizations into different directions and modes of the underlying silicon waveguide. Image credit: Guo et al, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1700007.
“This invention could also aid high-performance computers used to create animations and special effects,” said ANU Professor Dragomir Neshev, corresponding author of the paper.
“One of the big problems that gamers encounter is sluggish game play, which our nanodevice could greatly improve by speeding up the exchange of data between the multiple processors in the console.”
“The speed of this data transfer is currently limited by the speed that electrons can flow along the copper wires connecting the processors in gaming consoles.”
“Our invention can be used to connect these processors with optical wires that will transmit data between processers thousands of times faster than metal wires.”
“This will enable smooth rendering and large-scale parallel computation needed for a good gaming experience.”
Professor Neshev and co-authors used their nanoantenna to transmit and route telecom signals from the air into different directions in an optical wire, for the first time.
“We are the first to make an optical nanoantenna device with the ability to sort and route ultra-fast bit-rate telecommunication signals,” Professor Neshev said.
“We were able to shrink the optical components to bridge the size mismatch with today’s ever-smaller electronic parts.”
“Our results demonstrate that waveguide-integrated nanoantennas have the potential to be used as ultra-compact polarization-demultiplexing on-chip devices for high-bit rate telecommunication applications,” the scientists said.
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Rui Guo et al. 2017. High-bit rate ultra-compact light routing with mode-selective on-chip nanoantennas. Science Advances 3 (7): e1700007; doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1700007
