Changing the subject a bit, I bring you a scientific breakthrough that sounds like science fiction but is very real. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have achieved an impressive milestone in quantum dot laser technology. They have managed to make them work continuously and efficiently with very low energy, something that until now was one of the great obstacles of modern photonics. The results have been published today in the journal Nature Photonics.
And why should this matter to us? Because these tiny lasers could completely transform the technology we use every day. From drastically improving communication speeds in our devices to revolutionizing medical diagnostic equipment. Being so small and efficient, they can be integrated directly into computer chips, opening the door to optical interconnects in the processors of the future.
It is one of those discoveries that, although it sounds very technical to us now, will end up having a direct impact on our everyday technology. Photonics is advancing by leaps and bounds, and this new quantum dot design is the key to much faster devices that consume far less energy.
