A light transistor based on photons and phonons

Dr. Olivia Meyer-Streng at IDW writes: ''The ability to control the propagation of light is at the technological heart of today’s telecommunication society. Researchers in the Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurement led by Prof. Tobias J. Kippenberg (now EPFL) have discovered a novel principle to accomplish this, which is based on the interaction of light (photons) with mechanical vibrations (phonons). <!--break--> As they report in a forthcoming publication (Science Express, November 11, 2010), this scheme allows to control the transmission of a light beam past a chip-based optical micro-resonator directly by a second, stronger light beam. The new device could have numerous applications in telecommunication and quantum information technologies.''