Dutch researchers at the University of Twente's MESA+ research institute, together with ASML, TNO (the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) and TU/e (Eindhoven University of Technology) have developed a method for etching 3D structures in silicon. These structures behave as photonic crystals (semiconductors for light), making it possible to manipulate light in all sorts of novel ways. For instance, you can use them to "trap" light, or to create zones that are impenetrable to light of specific wavelengths. This method brings the optical computer (a much faster type of computer that uses optical bits instead of electronic ones) one step closer. The researchers give details of their method in two articles that will soon be published in the scientific journals Advanced Functional Materials and the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B.
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