The merging of two technologies under development -- plasmonics and nanophotonics -- is promising the emergence of new "quantum information systems" far more powerful than today's computers.
The technology hinges on using single photons -- the tiny particles that make up light -- for switching and routing in future computers that might harness the exotic principles of quantum mechanics.
The quantum information processing technology would use structures called "metamaterials," artificial nanostructured media with exotic properties.
The metamaterials, when combined with tiny "optical emitters," could make possible a new hybrid technology that uses "quantum light" in future computers, said Vladimir Shalaev, scientific director of nanophotonics at Purdue University's Birck Nanotechnology Center and a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering.
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