Carbon nanotubes developed as light emitters for optical circuits
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029764
IEEE Spectrum : To advance telecommunications technology, researchers have been working to further miniaturize integrated circuits to pack more on a single chip. One way is to use photons rather than electrons to transmit data. Although no viable integrated optical circuit using photons has yet been achieved, a team at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany has taken a step in that direction by developing a nanoscale photonic emitter . The researchers used carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to convert electrical signals into optical ones. Through the use of dielectrophoresis, they then integrated the light-emitting CNTs into nanostructured waveguides to direct the light. They next hope to install the new emitter device into larger, more complex structures and eventually build a complete photonic circuit.
