In a paper published March 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Qiaoqiang Gan (pronounced "Chow-Chung" and "Gone") Published a paper march 29th that described how they slowed broadband light waves using a type of material called nanoplasmonic structures.
"Gan explains that the ultimate goal is to achieve a breakthrough in optical communications called multiplexed, multiwavelength communications, where optical data can potentially be tamed at different wavelengths, thus greatly increasing processing and transmission capacity."
It gets pretty heavy after that but basically he is trying to catch lightwaves of varying frequencies in nanoscale grooves in a metallic surface, which would slow down light waves and allow them to be processed better at the receiving end. If things keep advanceing as he hopes
"These plasmonic chips provide the critical connection between nanoelectronics and photonics, Gan explains, allowing these different types of devices to be integrated, a prerequisite for realizing the potential of optical computing, "lab-on-a-chip" biosensors and more efficient, thin-film photovoltaic materials."
Such applications are obviously awesome, really in my opinion, anything that gets us clsoer to SciFi is a win in my book, and light catching processor chips would definately fit that.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110412162406.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
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