Gems are known for the beauty of the light that passes through them. But it is the fixed atomic arrangements of these crystals that determine the light frequencies permitted passage.
Now a Sandia-led team has created a plasmonic, or plasma-containing, crystal that is tunable. The effect is achieved by adjusting a voltage applied to the plasma. Because the crystal then is agile in transmitting terahertz light at varying frequencies, it could increase the bandwidth of high-speed communication networks and generally enhance high-speed electronics.
Sandia National Laboratories researcher Greg Dyer aligns a plasma-containing crystal that is tunable by varying the voltage. The technology potentially could increase the bandwidth of high-speed communications networks. (Credit: Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories)source: internet
