PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Material developed could speed up underwater communications by orders of magnitude

2014-01-24
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Catherine Hockmuth
chockmuth@ucsd.edu
858-822-1359
University of California - San Diego
Material developed could speed up underwater communications by orders of magnitude

University of California, San Diego electrical engineering professor Zhaowei Liu and colleagues have taken the first steps in a project to develop fast-blinking LED systems for underwater optical communications.

In the January 6 issue of Nature Nanotechnology, Liu and colleagues show that an artificial metamaterial can increase the light intensity and "blink speed" of a fluorescent light-emitting dye molecule.

The nanopatterned layers of silver and silicon in the new material sped up the molecule's blink rate to 76 times faster than normal, while producing an 80-fold increase in its brightness.

"The major purpose of this program is to develop a better light source for communication purposes," Liu said. "But this is just a first step in the whole story. We have proved that this artificial, manmade material can be designed to enhance light emission and intensity, but the next step will be to apply this on conventional LEDs."

Extreme blinking speed – ultrafast modulation – in blue and green LEDs is a missing link that is necessary for increasing the rate at which information can be sent via optical channels through the open water, such as between ships and submarines, submarines and divers, underwater environmental sensors and unmanned underwater vehicles, or other combinations.

If dramatically improved, optical wireless communications could eventually replace underwater acoustic communications systems for short distance applications. Acoustic communications are limited by slow speed and low data rates and may possibly cause distress to whales, dolphins and other marine life. To do this, they must develop blue and green LED systems that blink one or two orders of magnitude faster than today's blue and green gallium nitride (GaN) based LEDs.

In underwater optical wireless communications systems, data is converted from an electrical signal to optical waves that travel through the water from a light source such as a LED to an optical receiver. Blinking blue and green LEDs are already used to transfer information through the water. (Blue and green LEDs are used because their light is less apt to be absorbed by the water than other colors.)

The metamaterials developed by the researchers are synthetic, with properties not found in nature, and are specially designed to accelerate the light generation process.

So far, it's been difficult to directly convert an electrical signal into an optical signal in LEDs with adequate speed. At the moment, the blink rate for most of these converted signals is less than one gigahertz, a rate slower than the speed of most WiFi signals, Liu said.

The materials are designed to have extremely strong interactions with the light emitters that are specific to the wavelength--or color--of the emissions. In the new report, the researchers used a dye molecule that gives off a yellow-green hue. So the next step will be to pair the materials with the blue and green LEDs.

"The design of the materials may not be the hardest thing," said UC San Diego graduate student Dylan Lu, the lead author of the Nature Nanotechnology paper, who noted that they will work with LEDs that have been manufactured to a specific industry standard. "I think the major challenge, to apply it to LEDs, will be an integration issue."

Liu recently won a grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop the fast-blinking blue and green LED systems, which includes a little more than $500,000 over three years.

Along with Electrical and Computer Engineering professors Paul Yu and Eric Fullerton, Liu aims to eventually test ultrafast blinking LED configurations in San Diego's ocean waters.

"We started from advances in fundamental material research, and we want to transfer the knowledge to the LED business," said Liu.



INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Scientists reveal why life got big in the Earth's early oceans

2014-01-24
Why did life forms first begin to get larger and what advantage did this increase in size provide? UCLA biologists working with an international team of scientists examined the ...

10 years on Mars leads to livable mud

2014-01-24
Some of the oldest minerals ever analysed by NASA's Mars Opportunity Rover show that around four billion years ago Mars had liquid water so fresh it could have supported life. The findings were announced in a special 'Exploring ...

40 percent of parents learn how to use technology from their children

2014-01-24
Washington, DC (January 21, 2014) – Just how are adults learning to use technology? Chances are if ...

Biomarker for stress hormones in polar bears, wildlife affected by global climate change

2014-01-24
AMHERST, Mass. – Chemical analyses by neuroscientist Jerrold Meyer and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are helping to establish hair ...

Landmark egg production study reveals reduction in environmental impact over past 50 years

2014-01-24
PARK RIDGE, Ill., (January 24, 2014) – A new study published ...

Do religious people love their neighbors? Yes -- some neighbors, Baylor study finds

2014-01-24
Most religions teach their followers to "Love thy neighbor" — including those of different races, nationalities or beliefs. But is religiousness really related to love of neighbors? ...

CWRU researchers find epileptic activity spreads in new way

2014-01-24
Researchers in the biomedical engineering department at Case Western Reserve University have found that epileptic activity can spread through a part of the brain in a new way, suggesting a possible ...

2-way street

2014-01-24
Scientists have called for data held in biobanks to be made accessible to the people donating material and data to them. In a paper published today in Science, ...

Dietary treatment shows potential in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

2014-01-24
New research findings indicate that an early onset of dietary treatment may slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The study was conducted on mice, and the results will ...

Lal Teer and BGI jointly announced the complete sequence of water buffalo

2014-01-24
January 24, 2014, Bangladesh, and Shenzhen, China-Lal Teer Livestock Limited, an associate of LalTeer Seed Ltd., the largest seed company in Bangladesh with strong hybrid research program, and BGI, the world's largest ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power

Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health

Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world

Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on

A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice

ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests

Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows

Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

Decoding plants’ language of light

UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC

New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury

New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows

Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?

1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day

Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds

Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago

Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP

Rates of alcohol-induced deaths among the general population nearly doubled from 1999 to 2024

[Press-News.org] Material developed could speed up underwater communications by orders of magnitude