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IMAGE: Newly developed ballistic optical materials consist of a composite of two transparent materials, creating a plasmonic material. view more
Credit: Evan Simmons and Kun Li
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Electronics are increasingly being paired with optical systems, such as when accessing the internet on an electronically run computer through fiber optic cables.
But meshing optics which relies on particles of light called photons with electronics relying on electrons is challenging, due to their disparate scales. Electrons work at a much smaller scale than light does. The mismatch between electronic systems and optical systems means that every time a signal converts from one to the other, inefficiency creeps into the system.