Miracle material graphene could deliver the Internet 100 times faster, according to researchers.
In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, researchers from the Centre for Graphene Science, at the Universities of Bath and Exeter, demonstrated for the first time incredibly short optical response rates using graphene, which they say could pave the way for a revolution in telecoms.
"Every day, large amounts of information is transmitted and processed through optoelectronic devices such as optical fibres, photodetectors and lasers. Signals are sent by photons at infrared wavelengths and processed using optical switches, which convert signals into a series of light pulses.
"Ordinarily, optical switches respond at a rate of a few picoseconds - around a trillionth of a second."
The University of Bath says physicists have observed the response rate of an optical switch using "few layer graphene" to be around 100 femtoseconds - nearly a 100 times quicker than current materials.
"Graphene is just one atom thick, but remarkably strong. Scientists have suggested that it would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a single sheet. Already dubbed a miracle material due to its strength, lightness, flexibility, conductivity and low cost, it could now enter the market to dramatically improve telecommunications."
Commenting on the report's main findings, lead researcher Dr Enrico Da Como says: "We've seen an ultrafast optical response rate, using 'few-layer graphene', which has exciting applications for the development of high-speed optoelectronic components based on graphene.
"This fast response is in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum, where many applications in telecommunications, security and also medicine are currently developing and affecting our society."
Professor Simon Bending, co-director of the Centre for Graphene Science at Bath, says the more researchers find out about graphene, "the more remarkable its properties seem to be".
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