Research on ultra-high-speed molecular and nanooptic switches

Operation co-funded by EU cohesion policy (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)) under the programme Competitive Central-Hungary - ERDF/ESF (2014HU16M2OP002), managing authority: Nemzetgazdasági Minisztérium. Beneficiary: WIGNER FIZIKAI KUTATÓKÖZPONT. Location: Budapest (NUTS HU110); Hungary. Budget: total eligible expenditure EUR 1,244,854.59; EU co-financing EUR 933,640.94 (co-financing rate 75%), as stated by the source. Runs 2017-07-01 to 2022-06-30. Source: Kohesio, EU cohesion policy projects managed by national and regional authorities (not CORDIS); selected because its summary names quantum technology. Summary from Kohesio (English machine translation by the source): (A) Summary of the professional content of the aid application. — The technology of microelectronic devices used in computer science has reached its limits in terms of the clock signal used, the switching speed and the physical size of the memory capable of storing one bit. The typical duration of the connection is 100 ps, the domain size used for information storage is in the order of 100 nm. In order to be able to perform logical operations significantly (multiple scales) more quickly, fundamentally new switching architectures need to be developed — preferably within the size range needed to increase information density. — Three research groups of Wigner FK (including two Modile Groups) also deal with specialised material systems that have the potential to increase the order of magnitude at switching speed with the help of molecular and/or integrated nanooptical components. Therefore, on the one hand, the present project is (i) the material systems that can be used for connection (specifically: functional molecules and integrated nanooptical systems) are designed to investigate ultra-fast dynamics and (ii) to research specific architectures capable of supporting ultra-high switching rates. — For the construction of ultra-fast switches, on the one hand, nanooptical circuits can be used. Fibre optic-based switches are quick to operate, but they are impossible to achieve in nanoscale (due to the diffraction limit of light). Solution shall only be provided by surface-integrated waveguides and nano nodes that allow the transmission of electromagnetic waves through a nanostructure. Such so-called plasmon wave conductors are known to convert light into an electromagnetic wave that spreads along nanostructures and can be nanolocalised, which is optimal for ultra-fast switching in small sizes. The prototype of such a device should consist of light plasma connectors, plasma waveguides, nanofocusing elements and nano node(s) with the addition of appropriate interfaces. In [shortened; the full text is on the Kohesio page]

Original source.

Source: Kohesio (EU cohesion policy projects), European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Licence: CC0 1.0 (Cohesion Open Data Platform, dataset 2014-2020 Kohesio projects). Selected metadata, adapted presentation; the publisher's record is authoritative. No endorsement by the source is implied. Licence: public domain dedication (CC0 1.0).

AI-assisted summary: The research on ultra-high-speed molecular and nanooptic switches is co-funded by the EU under the Competitive Central-Hungary programme, with a total budget of EUR 1,244,854.59. It is managed by WIGNER FIZIKAI KUTATÓKÖZPONT in Budapest from July 2017 to June 2022. Suggested technology pillar: computing. Generated by AI from the public source text; it may contain errors and the original source is authoritative.