Printer friendly version Spin lasers in the fast lane 28 October
2011 Data transmission for the Internet of tomorrow RUB
scientists develop new concept for ultrafast lasers Electrical
engineers in Bochum have succeeded in developing a new concept
for ultrafast semiconductor lasers. The researchers make clever
use of the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, called spin,
to successfully break the previous speed barriers. The new spin
lasers have the potential to achieve modulation frequencies of
well above 100 GHz in future. This is a decisive step towards
high-speed data transmission, e.g. for the Internet of tomorrow.
The researchers report on their results in the prestigious
journal “Applied Physics Letters” of the American Institute of
Physics. Optical data transmission: the basis of our information
society Optical data transmission by semiconductor lasers is a
basic prerequisite for the globally networked world and today’s
information society. The ever increasing degree of networking
and the desire to