Imagine a window made of a type of glass through which light can only pass from one side, while it functions as a mirror to light coming from the opposite side. This is more or less what a team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the University of Nanjing, China, and Brazilian researchers of the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) and the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEAv) have built on a microscopic scale. The device is an important step in the manufacture of photonic computer chips, which would use light instead of electrons and be capable of performing logical operations faster and more efficiently. The device works like the light from a laser typically used in telecommunications and was manufactured using conventional materials and methods of the microelectronics industry. The study’s authors hope the technology can be adapted to make installations and military vehicles “invisible,” that is, prevent their surfaces from reflecting microwave radiation emitted by enemy radar. The research was featured on the cover of the February 2013 issue of the journal Nature Materials.
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