Expensive optical-to-electronic-to-optical converters are needed to switch photonic signals. Now, researchers have demonstrated an excitonic transistor that can perform the operation in what they claim is an ultra-small, ultra-low-power and potentially ultra-cheap device. According to researchers at the University of California at San Diego, the excitonic transistor accepts optical signals at its input, converts them to excitons which can be switched electronically, then automatically regenerates the optical signal at its output through recombination.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208800859
