Dr Timothy Moorsom - University of Leeds

What if computers used light instead of electricity? This long held dream was deemed impossible because optical components cannot be made small enough to compete with silicon. The field of plasmonics is revitalising interest in this idea. Plasmons are electromagnetic waves that are confined to conducting materials, allowing these waves to be condensed down to nanometre scales. Topological Plasmonics takes this idea a step further, by using a special class of materials called topological insulators (TIs) to confine these waves to a surface state that insures low noise and loss. Dr Moorsom’s research aims to design special interfaces by combining different TIs with other materials to create components that could be used in future sensors, communications, and processors that will run faster and use less energy.