Researchers Take Crucial Step Toward Miniature Optical Devices

Two Columbia University researchers have advanced the development of miniaturized optical devices such as microlasers and implantable medical sensors.
Richard Osgood and Miguel Levy bonded a 9-µm-thick sheet of magnetic garnet, a photonic material that permits transmission of light in only one direction, to a semiconductor.
The discovery has opened a host of possibilities including miniaturized optical processors for fiber optic telecommunications.