http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Sat, 25 May 2013 00:34:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://research.universityofcalifornia.edu/stories/2012/09/proof-concept.html http://research.universityofcalifornia.edu/stories/2012/09/proof-concept.html#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 21:53:09 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33173 Thanks to a new Proof of Concept grant from the University of California, Berkeley mechanical engineer Xiang Zhang will be able to build a prototype of his innovative "plasmon nanolaser," faciitating the process of turning a lab-bench invention into a commercially viable technology for improving computer chip speed for use in high-volume data communications.]]> http://research.universityofcalifornia.edu/stories/2012/09/proof-concept.html/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/05/08/graphene-optical-modulators-ultrafast-communications/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/05/08/graphene-optical-modulators-ultrafast-communications/#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 17:00:02 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=11258 UC Berkeley researchers have shown that graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of crystallized carbon, can be tuned electrically to modify the amount of photons absorbed. This ability to switch light on and off is the fundamental characteristic of a network modulator, opening the door to optical computing in handheld electronics.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/05/08/graphene-optical-modulators-ultrafast-communications/feed/ 0