Researchers have discovered that a new material can act as a super-fast magnetic switch. When struck by successive ultra-short laser pulses it exhibits ‘toggle switching’ that could increase the capacity of the global fiber optic cable network by an order of magnitude.

Expanding the capacity of the internet

Switching between two states — 0 and 1 — is the basis of digital technology and the backbone of the internet. The vast majority of all the data we download is stored magnetically in huge data centres across the world, linked by a network of optical fibres.

Obstacles to further progress with the internet are three-fold, specifically the speed and energy consumption of the semiconducting or magnetic switches that process and store our data and the capacity of the fibre optic network to handle it.

The new discovery of ultra-fast toggle switching using laser light on mirror-like films of an alloy of manganese, ruthenium and gallium known as MRG could help with all three problems.

Not only does light offer a great advantage when it comes to speed but magnetic switches need no power to maintain their state. More importantly, they now offer the prospect of rapid time-domain multiplexing of the existing fibre network, which could enable it to handle ten times as much data.

Story Source: Materials provided by Trinity College Dublin. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.