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A research team from Australian National University School of Physics and Engineering (RSPE) doing research on the use of magnets to steer light, has deduced the next step towards new communications systems which could be smaller, cheaper and more agile than fibre optics. The team under the guidance of Prof. Wieslaw Krolikowski from RSPE acknowledged that the breakthrough would be crucial for developing tiny components to process huge amounts of data.

While today's communication technologies aim to maximize data transmission rates and require the ability to precisely direct information channels, they use electronic components for signal processing such as switching, which is not as fast as light-based technology including fibre optics. The team thus used a magnetic field to stimulate liquid crystals and steer light beams carrying data, which enabled an innovative approach to data processing and switching.

According to the team experts, the touch-free magneto-optical system is so flexible that it can remotely transfer the tiny optical signal in any desired direction in real time and will be a deciding factor for the future communications technology. The innovation which is mostly based on liquid crystals with properties modified by light, will also a much more agile system than fibre optics.  

This discovery could lead to communications technology that could power a new generation of efficient devices such as compact and fast optical switches, routers and modulators. Click here to read the published article.