Metamaterial-Slowed Light Could Speed Up Internet, Claim Scientists

Scientists at the University of Oxford are experimenting with ways to increase internet speeds by, ironically, slowing down the light used in fiber optic communications.  The boost would come through replacing the existing system required to separate and route different signals to different destinations.  Using so-called metamaterials, that can be engineered to slow light down, the new system would allow different frequencies of light to be stored and delayed by different amounts, replicating the current electronic version but at much faster speeds.

At present, all of this is done electronically, the light signals being converted into electronic signals which are then processed, re-routed and switched back into light for the next leg of the journey. In fact, the metamaterial section could also perform the frequency spreading, condensing down what currently requires a large installation into something potentially as small as a fingernail.

The throughput improvements would be, according to the team involved, considerable.  Light can move at several terahertz and, even when slowed sufficiently for routing to take place, would be far faster than the gigahertz speeds electronic systems can manage. 

Metamaterials have also been in the news recently as a potential way to create "invisibility cloaks".  These would take advantage of the materials' ability to bend light around an object, giving the impression that it can be seen straight through.