Plasmonic Computer Chips

Computer chips capable of speeding data around by rippling the electrons on the surface of metal wires just got a step closer. Mark Brongersma, at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has found a new way to model the three-dimensional propagation of these ripples — called plasmons — in two dimensions. He says the new model is much simpler and more intuitive than existing simulations and will be crucial in the design of plasmonic components for computer chips — via Warren Ellis