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Sound and light are used to produce ultra-fast data transmission.

                                   

Scientists also made a discovery in the operation of terahertz quantum cascade lasers, which may result in data transfer at a pace of 100 gigabits per second— over a thousand times faster than a 100 megabit-a-second medium Ethernet.


What sets terahertz quantum cascade lasers apart from other lasers is the fact that they produce light from the electromagnetic spectrum in the terahertz scale. They have spectroscopy uses, where they are used in chemical research.
Eventually the lasers will also have ultra-fast, short-hop wireless connections where massive datasets have to be transported through hospital campuses or across university testing facilities— or in satellite communications.

The lasers need to be modulated very rapidly to be able to transmit data at such accelerated speeds: flipping on and off, or pulsing around 100 billion times a second.
Until now, engineers and scientists have struggled to find a way to do this.

A research team from Leeds University and Nottingham University claim they have discovered a way to produce ultra-fast modulation by integrating the strength of light and acoustic waves. Today (11 February) they reported their observations in Nature Communications.
John Cunningham, Professor of Nanoelectronics at Leeds, said: "It is fascinating work. Today, the method for the modulation of a quantum cascade laser is electrically powered— but that device has drawbacks. Interestingly, the same electronics that produce the modulation typically place a cap on the modulation speed.
A laser with a quantum cascade is very effective. When an electron travels into the laser's optical portion, it goes through a sequence of' quantum wells' where the electron's energy density decreases, releasing a photon or burst of light energy.

Each electron has the ability to produce several photons. Throughout modulation it is this mechanism that is regulated.
The study teams at Leeds and Nottingham Universities used acoustic waves instead of utilizing external circuitry to vibrate the quantum wells within the laser quantic cascade.

The effect of a pulse from another laser on an aluminum film produced the acoustic waves. It prompted the video to extend and compress, transmitting a mechanical wave across the laser quantic cascade.

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