Scientists Demonstrate High-Speed Data Transfer Via On-Chip Nano-Antenna For The First Time

An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) was honored to exhibit for the first time the "ultra-fast transmission of information" via a nano-antenna antenna that has been integrated to an optical waveguide. Suffice it to say that technology, currently in its infancy stage, has the potential to bring back telecommunication applications, with respect to the transfer of high-speed data between devices (selective).

Now, although there have been previous examples of nano-antenna printed on an optical waveguide, the scope of these experiments was limited in nature. But in this case, the scale of variance is paramount, as Professor Dragomir Neshev, a professor at the ANU (in an interview with the IEEE) explains -

What we have shown is that such a submicron-size antenna can sort and route different information streams (encoded in different polarizations of light) in different directions of the waveguide. This is a very important operation used in coherent receivers for any communication link.

In addition, the researchers also managed to dramatically reduce the size of the optical component. This component is necessary for the crucial sorting of the polarization to a small antenna (sub-micrometer). In other words, the shrinking process may potentially result in even greater (ie, high density) integration of photonic components in conventional silicon chips.

Now, while the very term "nano-antenna" may be vague in some cases, Dexter Johnson of IEEE explains what it implies in this regard -

Optical nanoantenna works through plasmonics. In plasmonics, the incoming light excites the electrons to the surface of a metal so that they begin to move across the surface of the metal in the plasmon waves. These plasmon waves have a much smaller length than even the smallest wavelength of light. As a result, it is possible to make the apparatus on a much smaller scale than those which would depend on the light by itself. Plasmonics has led to the very real possibility of creating photonic integrated circuits (ICs) in which photons could replace electrons.

Returning to research, Neshev concluded that their nano-antenna-on-chip technology encompasses elements of plasmonics, silicon photonics (belonging to waveguides) and telecommunication networks (for high-speed data transfer) . But, as with new research focused on nanotechnology, Neshev also admitted that basic engineering still needed to be improved for the commercial development of the micro-device in question here. The scientist said -

The whole structure must be CMOS compatible. The gold bars currently used must be replaced by another metal, possibly aluminum, to be compatible with the manufacture of standard CMOS ....

Source: IEEE