Revolutionizing light control: Ultrasmall optical devices break conventional practices in light handling
Revolutionary Nanophotonic Material Promises Next-Generation Optical Technologies
Chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr) is set to revolutionize the field of nanophotonics, offering significant advancements in light manipulation at the nanoscale. This unique material, a layered quantum material with a rare combination of magnetic order and strong optical response, promises to pave the way for next-generation optical technologies with unprecedented precision and adaptability.
A major limitation of traditional nanophotonic materials is their modest refractive indices, which limit how tightly light can be confined and how small optical devices can be made. CrSBr, however, exhibits an exceptionally large refractive index, allowing for the fabrication of optical structures thinner than traditional materials. Researchers can now create ultrathin optical devices, such as photonic crystals, as thin as 6 nanometers, roughly seven atomic layers - an order of magnitude thinner than traditional materials like silicon or titanium dioxide [1, 3, 4].
Moreover, CrSBr offers dynamic tunability of light flow. By applying modest magnetic fields, researchers can continuously and reversibly switch the optical modes of CrSBr nanostructures, dynamically changing how light propagates through them without mechanical parts or temperature changes. This magnetically induced shift in refractive index is much larger than in conventional photonic materials, providing a novel mechanism to actively control light at the nanoscale [1, 2, 3, 4].
The material's tunability via magnetic fields may enable photonic devices that adjust their optical properties on demand for improved imaging, sensing, light emission, and even photonic neural network applications, overcoming the rigidity of traditional nanophotonic components [3, 4].
CrSBr's intrinsic support for polaritons, hybrid quasiparticles of light and matter, also enables new regimes of quantum light transport and enhanced nonlinear optical effects without bulky optical cavities, opening possibilities for advanced photonic circuits and quantum technologies [2, 3].
The work on the new platform is reported in the July 8 issue of Nature Photonics [5]. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Army Research Office, and a MathWorks Science Fellowship. The work was performed in part at MIT.nano.
The results were achieved at cold temperatures up to 132 kelvins (-222 degrees Fahrenheit) [6]. Ahmet Kemal Demir, an MIT graduate student in physics, and Luca Nessi, a former MIT postdoc who is now a postdoc at Politecnico di Milano, are co-first authors of the Nature Photonics paper [5].
This exploration of new nanophotonic materials moves beyond traditional materials like silicon, silicon nitride, or titanium dioxide, offering a promising alternative for future optical technologies [7]. The new platform for controlling light, unveiled by MIT researchers, utilizes nanophotonics and manipulates light on the nanoscale [8].
Sources: - MIT News, 2025-08-01 [1] - Aegean Associates, Inc., 2025-07-31 [2] - TechExplorist, 2025-08-04 [3] - Knowridge Science Report, 2025-08-04 [4] - Nature Photonics, July 8 issue [5] - CrSBr was introduced as part of the exploration of new nanophotonic materials [7] - The work on the new platform was reported in the July 8 issue of Nature Photonics [5] - CrSBr supports polaritons intrinsically, unlike conventional systems that require external optical cavities [6] - The interaction between light and excitons in CrSBr leads to the formation of polaritons, enabling new forms of photonic behavior [6] - The second major limitation of traditional nanophotonic materials is that once a structure is fabricated, its optical behavior is essentially fixed and there is usually no way to significantly reconfigure how it responds to light without physically altering it [9] - Excitons dominate the optical response in CrSBr and are highly sensitive to magnetic fields [6]
- The article published in the July 8 issue of Nature Photonics highlights the promising potential of chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr), a layered quantum material, in revolutionizing the field of nanophotonics.
- Researchers believe that CrSBr, with its rare combination of magnetic order and strong optical response, can pave the way for next-generation optical technologies due to its exceptionally large refractive index.
- Graduate student in physics at MIT, Ahmet Kemal Demir, and former MIT postdoc Luca Nessi (now a postdoc at Politecnico di Milano), are co-first authors of the Nature Photonics paper reporting on the new platform developed for controlling light.
- CrSBr's tunability via magnetic fields could enable photonic devices that adjust their optical properties on demand, providing potential applications in improved imaging, sensing, light emission, and photonic neural network applications.
- The intrinsic support for polaritons in CrSBr opens possibilities for advanced photonic circuits and quantum technologies, as it leads to the formation of polaritons, hybrid quasiparticles of light and matter, without the need for bulky optical cavities.
- The investigation of new nanophotonic materials, including CrSBr, offers a promising alternative for future optical technologies, moving beyond traditional materials like silicon, silicon nitride, or titanium dioxide.
- One major limitation of traditional nanophotonic materials is their static optical behavior, which can't be significantly reconfigured without physically altering the structure. In contrast, CrSBr exhibits dynamic tunability of light flow that can be changed by applying modest magnetic fields.
