While today's pocket-size cell phones seem like a far cry from their early 90s processors, a team of Boston University scientists may drop their mass down another notch.
The team's creation of the world's fastest nanomachine, capable of oscillating at gigahertz speed - and developed by a team of Boston University scientists - was announced last Wednesday.
The nanomechanical oscillator, an antenna-like piece of silicon approximately one-tenth the width of a human hair, fluctuates at 1.49 billion times a second.
This device has applications in "quantum measurement, quantum computation, atomic and quantum optics, condensed matter physics and gravitational wave detection," according to the Jan. 28 issue of Physical Review Letters.
But, researchers say one of the primary applications of this technology will be the reduction of mobile communication devices, like cell phones and PDAs.
Professor Pritiraj Mohanty, the team leader, said the device's successful completion marks the progression into other uncharted territories.
"With this experiment we are entering a regime of macroscopic quantum mechanics that has not been explored before, a regime where the distinction between classical and quantum behaviors is murky, a regime where the whole foundation of quantum mechanics and quantum measurement comes under scrutiny," he said.
Mohanty is hopeful this device will lead to advances in the study of physics.
"The idea of exploring physical systems in this regime is exhilarating, as we are sure to stumble on new concepts and new ideas, sooner or later," he said. "I hope sooner rather than later."
College of Engineering graduate student Alexey Gaidarzhy and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Guiti Zolfagharkhani and physics post-doctoral fellow Robert Badzey worked alongside Mohanty.
"I think we have a very good team here, and it's been really good working with my lab partners," Gaidarzhy said. "Plus it really helps to have an advisor who is full of enthusiasm and new ideas."
The nanomechanical oscillator is composed of 50 billion atoms, making it the largest structure to display quantum mechanical movement, according to a Feb. 9 BU press release.
Gaidarzhy said the development of this device has significant literal and physical functions, which range from telecommunications to computing.
"It's been a lot of work, but also exciting to be involved in a project that shows a lot of promise both theoretically and in terms of applications," he said. "It's definitely been very interesting to do some new science in my graduate work."
Mohanty said he was pleased with the team's creation and its ramifications on the university's reputation in physics studies.
"I feel strongly about being in BU, and how BU, in spite of its perceived status relative to the other big schools around here, can lead in the areas of advanced technologies and fundamental sciences," he said.
Despite the successful creation of the nanomechanical oscillator, the project has a long way to go, Gaidarzhy said.
"It's true that we've demonstrated the fastest oscillator of its kind so far," he said. "But there is much more research to do, so the sense of completion hasn't hit yet."
The project was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Petroleum Research Fund and the Sloan Foundation.
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