English

New type of metasurface with adjustable beam frequency and direction

122
2024-07-30 10:21:02
See translation

Recently, according to the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team from the California Institute of Technology reported that they have constructed a metasurface covered with micro adjustable antennas that can reflect incident light beams: one beam of light enters and multiple beams of light exit, each with a different frequency and propagating in a different direction. This is a new method for processing free space signals rather than fiber optic signals, which can create many sidebands or channels with different optical frequencies.

When many people share the same Wi Fi network, the network may experience latency or lag. But if everyone had a dedicated wireless communication channel, it would be hundreds of times faster and bandwidth increased than the Wi Fi we use today. The new research is not only expected to be used for developing new wireless communication channels, but also opens up new avenues for developing new ranging technologies or transmitting large amounts of data into space.

Researchers have constructed a metasurface covered with micro adjustable antennas that can reflect incident light beams, creating many sidebands or channels of different optical frequencies.

The research team stated that the design of metasurfaces aims to surpass the effects that traditional optical components such as cameras or microscope lenses can achieve. This multi-layer crystal tube like device is called a "spatiotemporal metasurface", which adopts carefully selected nanoscale antenna pattern design to change the response of light, and can reflect, scatter or otherwise control light, such as reflecting light in a specific direction and at a specific frequency.

The core width and length of the device are both 120 microns, and the wavelength of the light wave used when operating in reflection mode at the optical frequency is 1530 nanometers, which is thousands of times higher than the frequency of radio waves, meaning that the available bandwidth is much larger.

The research team suggests that these metasurfaces could be used in the field of LiDAR, where light can be used to capture depth information of three-dimensional scenes. The ultimate goal of the team is to develop a 'universal metasurface' that can create multiple optical channels in free space, with each channel transmitting information in a different direction. They envision that in the future, when many people use laptops in the same coffee shop, everyone will no longer receive wireless Wi Fi signals, but instead receive their own high fidelity beam signals, and no longer have to worry about internet speed issues.

Source: Science and Technology Daily

Related Recommendations
  • Research has shown that patterns on crystals can double the optical sensitivity of photodetectors

    Scientists from the Institute of Automation and Control Process at the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences described the changes on the surface of monocrystalline silicon during laser processing. The author of this study placed the crystal in a methanol solution and applied a laser pulse lasting one thousandth of a second to the sample, with a pulse count ranging from five to fifty ...

    2024-04-01
    See translation
  • Bodor Laser: Laser Cutters Rank First in Global Sales for Six Consecutive Years

    On February 27, at Bodor Laser's global headquarters base in Licheng District, Jinan City, three automated production lines were operating at full capacity, struggling to meet the overwhelming demand. Lu Guohao, Secretary of the Board and Director of the President's Office at Bodor Laser, revealed that the company's laser cutter shipments exceeded 8,000 units in 2024, securing the top spot in glob...

    03-10
    See translation
  • Pressure sensing using dual color laser absorption spectroscopy

    The research team led by Professor Gao Xiaoming and Professor Liu Kun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences recently designed a concentration independent pressure sensing technology for high-temperature combustion diagnosis. This method is based on dual color laser absorption spectroscopy.The results of this study have been published in Optics Letters.Aircraft eng...

    2024-03-09
    See translation
  • Personnel changes at Optimax, a precision optical manufacturer

    On November 25th, Optimax, the largest precision optics manufacturer in the United States, announced the appointment of Joseph Spilman as CEO and Pete Kupinski as President. After developing a comprehensive succession plan, Optimax CEO Rick Plympton will retire along with President and Founder Mike Mandina.Mandina stepped down in 2021 and passed on the title of CEO to Spilman, strategically appo...

    2024-11-28
    See translation
  • Data from the 2023/2024 fiscal year of Tongkuai Group shows a decline in sales and order volume

    German high-tech company TRUMPF has released data for the 2023/24 fiscal year: sales decreased by 3.6% to 5.2 billion euros, and orders decreased by 10.4% to 4.6 billion euros. The global number of employees has increased by 650, with a total of over 19000 employees, and the number of employees in Germany has increased by nearly 400.As of June 30, 2024, at the end of the 2023/24 fiscal year, the s...

    2024-10-21
    See translation