Crystals ripple in response to light: First propagating surface phonon polaritons in a van der Waals crystal
Friday, March 7, 2014 - 09:02
in Physics & Chemistry
Minuscule waves that propagate across atom -- thin layers of crystal could carry information, light, and heat in nanoscale devices. For the first time, the frequency and amplitude of these waves, called surface phonon polaritons, can be tuned by altering the number of layers of crystals, and they travel far making practical applications for these signals feasible.