Twisting Light Into Memory: A New Era for Optical Computing Begins

Published on: Quantum Server Networks – Photonics, Quantum Engineering & Materials Innovation

Chiral photonic device from the University of Utah

Light is fast. And now, thanks to a team of researchers from the University of Utah, it may also become the new standard for computing memory. Scientists have unveiled a programmable chiral photonic device that can manipulate the "handedness" of light in real-time—unlocking a revolutionary path for optical computing, data storage, and memory architectures beyond electronics.

This next-generation optical device, built on a heterostructure of twisted carbon nanotubes and phase-change materials (PCMs), enables dynamic control of circular dichroism—a key property that determines how much left- or right-circularly polarized light is absorbed or transmitted. And the twist? This control is electrically reconfigurable, allowing light itself to be “programmed” for logic and memory functions.

From Static Sculptures to Dynamic Photonics

Traditional chiral optics have been likened to stone carvings—precisely made but fixed and unchangeable. This limitation has long restricted their use in dynamic applications such as adaptive sensors or reprogrammable photonic systems. But the Utah team, led by Prof. Weilu Gao and Ph.D. student Jichao Fan, has created what they call "living optical matter": devices that evolve and adapt based on electrical input.

Their approach centers on aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are embedded within layers of GST (Ge₂Sb₂Te₅), a phase-change material commonly used in rewritable memory. The CNTs serve two roles: as the chiral medium that manipulates light, and as transparent electrodes that trigger phase transitions in the PCM. An electrical pulse causes the GST layer to switch from amorphous to crystalline, changing how it interacts with polarized light—effectively switching its memory state.

Memory in the Handedness of Light

The device’s ability to modulate circular dichroism in real time makes it possible to use light's polarization—its twist direction—as a data storage variable. This adds a new, orthogonal information channel to light-based computing, alongside amplitude, phase, and wavelength. And because these properties don’t interfere with each other, multiple bits of information can be processed simultaneously in parallel light streams—dramatically increasing bandwidth and computational throughput.

"We’ve created a wafer-scale platform where circular dichroism can be adjusted electrically on demand," said Fan. "This opens up scalable applications in real-time reconfigurable optical memory and neuromorphic computing systems."

Scalability Meets Versatility

Perhaps even more impressive is the team’s achievement of this functionality at the wafer scale. Using AI-assisted design and precision fabrication, they built the stacked heterostructure without degrading the individual optical characteristics of each layer. This positions the technology for real-world integration in data centers, photonic chips, and quantum communication systems.

Beyond memory storage, this innovation also unlocks potential in:

  • Optical neural networks: for brain-like computing architectures operating at the speed of light
  • Chiral sensing and spectroscopy: enabling precise detection of molecular handedness in biology and chemistry
  • Quantum encryption: using light’s polarization states for secure information encoding

Looking Forward: The Optics-Electronics Merge

The photonic revolution has long promised faster, lighter, and more efficient computing. But without dynamic, tunable components like this chiral photonic memory, progress has been slow. The work of Gao, Fan, and their collaborators represents a significant leap toward achieving fully reconfigurable photonic systems—where light, not electrons, forms the backbone of data storage and processing.

Published in Nature Communications, the study is titled: "A Programmable Wafer-scale Chiroptical Heterostructure of Twisted Aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Phase Change Materials".

To read the original article, visit: Phys.org – Twisting Light for Memory

About Quantum Server Networks: We spotlight pioneering advances at the intersection of quantum science, photonics, AI materials discovery, and beyond—bringing you the materials that will shape tomorrow’s tech.

#ChiralPhotonics #OpticalComputing #CarbonNanotubes #PhaseChangeMaterials #CircularDichroism #NeuromorphicDevices #LightBasedMemory #PhotonicCircuits #QuantumServerNetworks #MaterialsScienceInnovation

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