Chips Give Hope to All-Optical Memory

by Oliver Graydon optics.org News, 12 Oct 2005 The development of all-optical buffers that can delay and temporarily store light pulses has been given a boost with the demonstration of three types of semiconductor device that can perform the task. Scientists at the COM Research Center in Denmark have shown that two popular telecom components -- a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier and an electro-absorption modulator -- can both slow the propagation of light pulses. At the same time, a team from University of California at Berkeley and Texas A&M University has demonstrated that, when configured as an amplifier, a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser can also perform the feat. Read more