Physics of Moscow State University in cooperation with Japanese colleagues from Toyohashi University of Technology have created a new method of ultrafast control of rotation the polarization of light. These results open up new possibilities for systems of optical processing information. In addition, the new method can be used when creating a spatial light modulators, which are the basis of LCD screens.
During the researches scientists used the Faraday effect in relation to the new nanostructures – tape recorder crystals, which are able to change the speed, polarization and other parameters of light. Scientists have made a magnetic field to polarized light passing through the crystals, allowing the photons to slow down about 10 times the rate of their passage in the air.
Physicists note that the obtained value is not sufficient for practical use of the new method, but these restrictions are not fundamental. Already, they have samples of displays working on the basis of magnetophotonic light modulators for playback of 3D images and video, as well as three-dimensional holographic memory.
In the future, a new way to control rotation of the light polarization can give impetus to the emergence of heavy-duty light computers, in which photons replace electrons completely.
