Electrical engineers take major step toward photonic circuits

Team invents non-metallic metamaterial that enables them to 'compress' and contain light

2014-08-19

(Press-News.org) Edmonton—The invention of fibre optics revolutionized the way we share information, allowing us to transmit data at volumes and speeds we'd only previously dreamed of.

Now, electrical engineering researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada are breaking another barrier, designing nano-optical cables small enough to replace the copper wiring on computer chips.

This could result in radical increases in computing speeds and reduced energy use by electronic devices.

"We're already transmitting data from continent to continent using fibre optics, but the killer application is using this inside chips for interconnects—that is the Holy Grail," says Zubin Jacob, an electrical engineering professor leading the research. "What we've done is come up with a fundamentally new way of confining light to the nano scale."

At present, the diameter of fibre optic cables is limited to about 1/1000th of a millimetre. Cables designed by graduate student Saman Jahani and Jacob are 10 times smaller—small enough to replace copper wiring still used on computer chips. (Put into perspective, a dime is about 1 mm thick.)

Jahani and Jacob have invented a new, non-metallic metamaterial that enables them to "compress" and contain light waves in smaller cables without creating heat, slowing the signal or losing data. Their findings will be published in Optica (Aug. 20), The Optical Society's (OSA) new high-impact photonics journal. The article is available online.

INFORMATION: The team's research is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative.

For further information and to arrange interviews contact: Richard Cairney
Communications Officer
University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering
780.492.4514
780.886.9278 (mobile)
richard.cairney@ualberta.ca

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New study first to examine quality of cardiac rehabilitation programs in Canada

2014-08-19

The quality of cardiac rehabilitation programs across Canada is strong, with specific criteria areas now identified as requiring further enhancement to improve patient outcomes, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, York University and UHN. "We are the first to comprehensively assess cardiac rehabilitation quality --- what we are doing well and where we should do better --- to this degree across the country," says Dr. Sherry Grace, study author, Director of Research, GoodLife Fitness Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Unit, University ...

Asian inventions dominate energy storage systems

2014-08-19

This news release is available in German. Wind and solar power are inherently intermittent energy sources. If a large amount of electricity is to be produced with renewable energy sources in the future, excess energy will have to be stored during productive periods so that these fluctuations can be compensated for. However, existing storage capacities are far from adequate for the purpose. Science and industry are therefore working on new, better technologies. One important focus lies on battery systems that used to be too expensive or unsophisticated to be employed ...

This week from AGU: Long-term ecological research, predicting cholera outbreaks

2014-08-19

From this week's Eos: Long-Term Ecological Research and Network-Level Science Imagine if we had the ability to track how a wide range of ecosystems was responding to global changes in real time. Such a tool would be particularly powerful if it coupled multiple decades of information about ecological responses to environmental change with large-scale, long-term experiments and models from dozens of different ecosystem types. In fact, this tool exists: It is the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network, which will soon celebrate its 35th anniversary. From ...

Moving single cells around -- accurately and cheaply

2014-08-19

HOUSTON -- ( Aug. 19, 2014 ) -- Scientists at the Houston Methodist Research Institute have figured out how to pick up and transfer single cells using a pipette -- a common laboratory tool that's been tweaked slightly. They describe this engineering feat and preliminary test results in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. "Studying single cells and their unique functions has become a frontier in current biomedical research," said nanomedicine department. faculty member Lidong Qin, Ph.D., the project's principal investigator. "One of the biggest ...

Financial weight makes it trickier to lose pounds where it counts

2014-08-19

This news release is available in French. Montreal, August 19, 2014 -- Weight-loss advertising tends to target people ready, willing and able to pay for diet programs, special meals or gym memberships. But it's those who live below the poverty line who are more likely to be overweight or obese. When it comes to weight-loss for the poor, it turns out that it's more than just cash-flow that stands in the way. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine by researchers from Concordia University shows that those who struggle the most financially also are ...

Neighborhood ethnic composition and problem drinking among older Mexican-American men

2014-08-19

BATON ROUGE – LSU Sociology Professor Samuel Stroope is the lead author of a new study, "Neighborhood Ethnic Composition and Problem Drinking among Older Mexican American Men," that will appear in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. Stroope – and co-authors at Baylor University and the University of Texas Medical Branch – found that older Mexican-American men are less likely to engage in problem drinking as residents of neighborhoods with a higher proportion of Mexican-Americans. The study used data on 350 men aged 75 and older from the "Hispanic Established ...

Laser optical tweezers reveal how malaria parasites infect red blood cells

2014-08-19

VIDEO: This video shows the delivery of a viable merozoite via optical tweezers to a healthy erythrocyte and subsequent invasion. Click here for more information. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by a parasite that invades one red blood cell after another. Little is known about this infection process because it happens so quickly, potentially explaining why there is currently no approved malaria vaccine. In a study published by Cell Press August 19th in the Biophysical ...

Bubbling down: Discovery suggests surprising uses for common bubbles

2014-08-19

Anyone who has ever had a glass of fizzy soda knows that bubbles can throw tiny particles into the air. But in a finding with wide industrial applications, Princeton researchers have demonstrated that the bursting bubbles push some particles down into the liquid as well. "It is well known that bursting bubbles produce aerosol droplets, so we were surprised, and fascinated, to discover that when we covered the water with oil, the same process injected tiny oil droplets into the water," said Howard Stone, the Donald R. Dixon '69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor of Mechanical ...

Perampanel for epilepsy: Still no proof of added benefit

2014-08-19

The drug perampanel (trade name Fycompa) has been approved since July 2012 as adjunctive ("add-on") therapy for adults and children aged 12 years and older with epileptic fits (seizures). In a new early benefit assessment according to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether perampanel offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy. However, such an added benefit cannot be derived from the new dossier either, as the drug manufacturer did not ...

Ruxolitinib for myelofibrosis: Indication of considerable added benefit

2014-08-19

Ruxolitinib (trade name: Jakavi) has been approved since August 2012 for the treatment of adults with myelofibrosis. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy specified by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA). According to the results, there is an indication of considerable added benefit in comparison with "best supportive care" (BSC) because ...

International survey finds that support for climate interventions is tied to being hopeful and worried about climate change

NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer

Electrical engineers take major step toward photonic circuits

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: