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Nature 441, 701-702 (8 June 2006) | doi:10.1038/441701a; Published online 7 June 2006

Photonics: Transparency on an optical chip

Robert W. Boyd1 & Daniel J. Gauthier2

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A two-laser trick that renders opaque media transparent can be achieved in systems of tiny optical resonators — with potentially profound consequences for optical communication and information processing.

The discovery of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) — an unusual effect that occurs when two laser beams interact within an optical material — and the use of novel techniques to fabricate ever smaller structures to control light have been recent exciting developments in optical physics. Writing in Physical Review Letters, Xu et al.1 neatly combine the two, demonstrating an on-chip, all-optical analogue of EIT based on the response of coupled optical microresonators.

  1. Robert W. Boyd is at the Institute of Optics and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
    Email: boyd@optics.rochester.edu
  2. Daniel J. Gauthier is in the Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
    Email: gauthier@phy.duke.edu

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