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Light Waves Brought to a Stop in a Crystal Promises New Ways to Control Photons

Finding new ways to slow fleeting waves of light or even stop them in their tracks could lead to more advanced photonic devices, such as lasers, LED displays, fiber-optics, and sensors.

Finding new ways to slow fleeting waves of light or even stop them in their tracks could lead to more advanced photonic devices, such as lasers, LED displays, fiber-optics, and sensors. In a cunning trap made from a silicon crystal tweaked to behave as if it's deformed, scientists have found a flexible new way to make light waves stand absolutely still. The team's honeycombed photonic crystals were able to confine light to Landau levels using a process that represented different kinds of deformation, such as curving or warping.

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