Scientists capture light in a polymeric quasicrystal
ITMO University scientists have conducted several experiments to investigate polymeric quasicrystals that ultimately confirmed their initial theory. In the future, the use of quasicrystals may open up new possibilities for laser and sensor design. This paper was published in Advanced Optical Materials.
Crystals are solids with a periodic structure, i.e., when atoms are displaced, they take the exact places of other atoms, the latter occupied before the shift. This fact was scientifically proved at the beginning of the 20th century. It gave rise to modern solid-state physics and also laid the foundation for the development of semiconductor technologies.
Mikhail Rybin, associate professor at ITMO's Department of Physics and Engineering, says, "Computers, smartphones, LED bulbs, lasers—everything we can't imagine our day-to-day lives without was designed thanks to the fact that we understand the nature of the crystalline structure of semiconductor materials. The theory of periodic structures allows us to conclude that waves—be it light, electrons, or sound—can only move in two ways. Either the wave propagates forward in the crystal, or it rapidly fades at the frequencies of the so-called band gap. There are no other options and it greatly simplifies the laws of particle propagation while facilitating engineering tasks."
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