national university of singapore nanoelectronics converter
A research team led by Associate Professor Christian Nijhuis (second from right) from the Department of Chemistry at the NUS Faculty of Science has recently invented a novel "converter" that can harness the speed and small size of plasmons for high frequency data processing and transmission in nanoelectronics (Supplied Photo/National University of Singapore)

National University of Singapore (NUS) has invented a new technology that can drastically improve the speed of data processing and transmission, even in smaller devices. Initially called "converter", this groundbreaking tool can have a significant contribution to the future of device mobility.

The research team from NUS led by Christian Nijhuis came up with "converter" in a quest "to produce smaller, faster and smarter gadgets" such as computers, phones, memory storage devices, electronic displays and medical diagnostic tools.

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This latest development in nanoelectronics, or the use of nanotechnology in electronic components, is stirred up by the desire of many technology innovators to make connected devices more mobile. Nijhuis says "converter" can be directly embedded into technologies of today.

"We can potentially make chips run faster and reduce power losses," says Nijhuis. "We believe it can be readily integrated into existing technologies and can potentially be used in a wide range of applications in the future."

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Technically called a plasmonic-electronic transducer, it was first published in the journal Nature Photonics on September 29, 2017. In its pilot, the researchers found out the transducer is 1,000 times more efficient than the current conversion process of electrical signals to plasmonic signals.

The team is now considering to take this research further in a bid to diminish the size of the device with the "converter" being used.