2023-08-17 11:18:44
Light trapped inside a magnetic crystal can strongly enhance its magneto-optic interactions. – REZLIND BUSHATI.
MADRID, 17 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Physicists from the City College of New York have shown that trapping light within magnetic materials can drastically improve its intrinsic properties.
The strong optical responses of magnets are important for the development of magnetic lasers and magneto-optical memory devices, as well as for emerging applications of quantum transduction.
In their new paper in Nature, Menon and his team report on the properties of a layered magnet that harbors tightly bound excitons, quasiparticles with particularly strong optical interactions. Therefore, the material is capable of trapping light by itself.
As their experiments show, the optical responses of this material to magnetic phenomena are orders of magnitude stronger than those of typical magnets. “Since the light bounces back and forth inside the magnet, the interactions really get better,” he said. it’s a statement Dr. Florian Dirnberger, lead author of the study.
“To give an example, when we apply an external magnetic field, the reflection of near-infrared light is altered so much that the material basically changes color. That’s a pretty strong magneto-optic response.“.
“Usually, light doesn’t respond as strongly to magnetism,” Menon said. “That is why technological applications based on magneto-optical effects often require the implementation of sensitive optical detection schemes.”
Commenting on how the advances can benefit ordinary people, study co-author Jiamin Quan said: “The technological applications of magnetic materials today are mainly related to magnetoelectric phenomena. Given the very strong interactions between magnetism and light, we can now hope to one day create magnetic lasers and can reconsider the old concepts of optically controlled magnetic memory.”
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