Article

A team led by University of Oldenburg physicist Professor Dr. Christoph Lienau has demonstrated an ultrafast switching mirror device using a silver nanostructure and a three-atom-thick layer of tungsten disulphide.

This device can switch at speeds approximately 10,000 times faster than traditional electronic transistors. The researchers achieved manipulation of reflective properties within femtoseconds using a focused laser beam.

The hybrid nanostructure functions as an active metamaterial, storing light in a quantum state called an exciton-plasmon polariton for around 70 femtoseconds. The study utilized two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy to observe quantum interactions at femtosecond intervals. The findings suggest potential applications in optical data processing, chip manufacturing, and quantum computing, aiming to increase information transmission rates significantly.