Key Points
- Scientists at NYU have discovered a new material called “gyromorphs” for use in light-based computers.
- Gyromorphs combine the properties of both liquids and crystals —a previously thought-impossible combination.
- They are better at blocking light from all directions than any other known material, including quasicrystals.
- This breakthrough could solve a major challenge in developing faster, more energy-efficient light-based computers.
Scientists are working on computers that use light rather than electricity for storage and computation. These “light-based” computers could be faster and more energy-efficient than traditional ones. A major challenge, however, is controlling tiny light signals on a computer chip without losing signal strength. This requires a special material that blocks light from all directions.
Now, scientists at New York University have discovered a new material called “gyromorphs” that could be the solution. Gyromorphs are unique because they combine properties of both liquids and crystals, something that was thought to be impossible. They are better at blocking light from all angles than any other known material.
This discovery, published in Physical Review Letters, could be a major step forward for light-based computers. “Gyromorphs are unlike any known structure,” said Stefano Martiniani, the paper’s senior author. “Their unique makeup gives rise to better isotropic bandgap materials than is possible with current approaches.”
Previously, scientists used materials called quasicrystals to try to block light. Quasicrystals have an ordered structure, but it doesn’t repeat. The problem is, they either completely block light from only a few directions or they weaken it from all directions without fully blocking it.
The NYU researchers created gyromorphs as “metamaterials”—materials whose properties arise from their structure rather than their chemistry. Using a new algorithm, they designed structures that were functional but not perfectly ordered.
“Think of trees in a forest—they grow at random positions, but not completely random because they’re usually a certain distance from one another,” explains Martiniani. This new pattern, gyromorphs, combines properties previously believed to be incompatible and performs better than all other options, including quasicrystals.
“This is because gyromorphs don’t have a fixed, repeating structure like a crystal, which gives them a liquid-like disorder,” adds Mathias Casiulis, the paper’s lead author. “But, at the same time, if you look at them from a distance, they form regular patterns. These properties work together to create band gaps that lightwaves can’t penetrate from any direction.”
