Scientists have built the first all-optical photonic time crystal. This breakthrough could pave the way for ultrafast computers, adaptable communication systems, advanced imaging, and a new generation of highly tunable lasers.
An international team (from École Polytechnique, Collège de France, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf) achieved this by exposing a plasmonic metamaterial to terahertz laser pulses generated by the TELBE superradiant terahertz source. The key challenge was to simultaneously achieve strong and ultrafast temporal modulations of the material’s optical properties (especially its reflectivity) — something that had been a major technical obstacle. The changes occurred on a picosecond scale (one billionth of a billionth of a second). A theoretical model developed by Marco Schiró’s team at Collège de France supported the experimental findings and showed that changing the material over time cut photon dissipation in half. The researchers now aim to further reduce photon dissipation and increase the number of photons held within the crystal. If successful, the device could become the basis for highly adaptable new lasers, potentially enabling ultrafast applications in medical imaging and communications.
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