A 200-year-old physics experiment could help build future computers
Researchers at NTU Singapore have developed a simple method to generate optical skyrmions by using a 200-year-old optical phenomenon known as the Poisson spot. This technique avoids the need for expensive metamaterials, making these light structures more accessible for future computing and data storage research.
Why it matters
Lowering the barrier to creating optical skyrmions could accelerate advancements in next-generation data storage and communication technologies.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found a much simpler way to produce unusual light structures known as optical skyrmions by reviving a classic optics experiment that dates back more than 200 years.
Optical skyrmions are tiny, stable swirling patterns formed within the properties of light. Their structure has often been compared to the spines of a hedgehog. Because they can potentially encode and store information, researchers see them as promising building blocks for future data storage, communications, and computing technologies.
Instead of relying on expensive, highly engineered metamaterials that have traditionally been needed to generate optical skyrmions, the NTU team created them by shining a laser at a small circular disc. The approach provides a far simpler way to produce, study, and control these complex light structures.
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