Atomically Thin Optical Waveguide Channels Light in VIS Spectrum

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed a waveguide that is more than 10,000 times thinner than a typical optical fiber and about 500 times thinner than on-chip optical waveguides in integrated photonic circuits. The atomically thin waveguide, which is able to channel light in the visible spectrum, could facilitate the scaling down of optical devices and the development of higher-capacity photonic chips. The researchers used advanced micro- and nanofabrication techniques to create the waveguide from material that is just three layers of atoms thick, suspending the material on a silicon frame so they could work with precision and without risk of the material breaking. Illustration of a monolayer of...