Plasmonic Modulators the Tiny Gold Device Broke Data Speed Records
Researchers at ETH Zurich developed a next-generation plasmonic modulator that allows optical data transmission at record-breaking terahertz frequencies. This breakthrough has the potential to transform 6G, computing, and medical imaging by accelerating and optimizing data flow. The modulator converts electrical signals into optical signals for high-speed data transmission, increasing the efficiency of fiber-optic networks through data processing at new rates. The technique has the potential for use in next-generation mobile communications (6G) and other high-speed data transfer systems. Other potential uses include optical fiber data transfer within and between high-performance computing centers, high-performance measurement technology, medical imaging techniques, spectroscopic methods for material analysis, airport baggage scanners, and radar technology.
Researchers have developed a next-generation plasmonic modulator that enables previously unheard-of optical data transmission at terahertz frequencies. This breakthrough has the potential to transform medical imaging, computing, and 6G through quicker and more efficient data delivery.
Exploding the Terahertz Limit
Electrical signals are transformed into optical signals using plasmonic modulators, which are small devices that are used to transmit signals across optical fibers. It was previously unattainable for this kind of modulator to operate at frequencies more than a terahertz, or more than a trillion oscillations per second. ETH Zurich Professor of Photonics and Communications Jürg Leuthold led the team of researchers who made this discovery, though similar modulators were previously only capable of operating at frequencies between 100 and 200 gigahertz, thus this new advancement is five to ten times quicker.
Large amounts of data may be transferred thanks to these modulators, which are essential connections between optical and electronic communication. In the modern era, Professor Leuthold adds, “Data is always initially present in electrical form and its transmission always incorporates optical fibers at some point.”
Driving 6G Future Communications
The terahertz band will be used by the upcoming 6G mobile communications technology. It uses optical fiber technology for its backbone, which consists of the cables connecting the base stations. Yannik Horst, who developed the component for his doctoral thesis, states, “Our modulator enables radio transmissions and other electrical signals to be turned into optical signals directly and therefore efficiently.”
Application Expansion Outside of Telecommunications
Technically, it is already possible to transfer terahertz signals onto optical fiber, but doing so is a time-consuming procedure that now calls for a number of costly components. Direct signal conversion by the new modulators lowers energy usage and improves measurement precision. Additionally, distinct components are currently required for various frequency ranges. The frequency range for the new modulator is 10 megahertz to 1.14 terahertz. With just one component, we can cover the whole frequency range. As a result, its applications are rather diverse,” Horst notes.
Optical fiber data transmission both inside and between high-performance computer centers is another possible use. Finally, the components are also a source of interest for high-performance measurement technologies, such as radar technology, spectroscopic methods for material investigation, airport baggage scanners, and imaging tools in medicine. These days, several of these technologies already function in the terahertz region.
Innovative Style and Commercial Opportunity
Based on the interplay between light and free electrons in gold, the novel modulator is a small nanostructure composed of different materials. Polariton Technologies, an ETH spin-off that came from Leuthold’s group, manufactured the gadget after developing the technology at ETH Zurich. The company’s current goal is to commercialize the terahertz modulator so that it can be widely applied in measurement and data transmission applications in the future.
Reference: “Ultra-wideband MHz to THz plasmonic EO modulator” by Marcel Destraz, Hande Ibili, Daniel Chelladurai, Sónia Fernandes, Christian Funck, Loïc Chérix, Juerg Leuthold, David Moor, Yuqi Liu, Killian Keller, Wolfgang Heni, Laurenz Kulmer, Hua Wang, Tobias Blatter, Stefan M. Koepfli, Yannik Horst and Michael Baumann, 19 March 2025, Optica.