Nano-optical cables that can replace copper wires for computers will be available

Following the invention of fiber optic technology that revolutionized data transmission speed and capacity, electronics engineers at the University of Alberta in Canada have broken down another hurdle by recently successfully designing nano-optical cables that can replace copper wires in computer chips, significantly increasing computing speed and reducing the energy consumption
of electronic devices.
This research work was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada and the Helmholtz Alberta Program
.

Researchers say that it is already possible to use optical fibers to transmit data between different locations, and the key application is to use optical fibers to achieve information interconnection
within chips.
The goal of this work is to explore new ways
to confine light to the nanoscale.

A popular solution is to use reflective metal cladding to confine light waves in the cable, but the biggest obstacle is that the light waves are converted into heat, causing the cable temperature to rise and the loss
of information.
Canadian researchers have designed a new non-financial metamaterial that confinates light waves in
nano-optical cables without generating heat, weakening signals or losing data.
Currently, researchers are creating metamaterials on silicon chips to go beyond the lightwave-limiting strategies
currently used in industry.