Matthias Kling, an assistant professor of physics at the Kansas State University has received the prestigious Early Career Research Program Award from the United States Department of Energy for his research project titled "Electron Dynamics in Nanostructures in Strong Laser Fields."
The award features funding support of US $750,000. There were a total of 850 applications for the award of which the Department of Energy chose only 68.
Kling’s research has the potential to pave the way for faster communication and electronics technology. The project comprises two phases. The first phase involves the exploration of methods available to control motion of electrons in nanosystems using the electric fields induced by light waves. If Kling succeeds in achieving this control over electrons, it can lead to enhanced communication technology where electrons move 100,000 times faster. Existing communication technology employs optical fibers to transmit information across oceans at the speed of light. The speed of this technology is hampered by the necessity to code and decode information using computers. The success of Kling’s project will aid in overcoming this limitation.
The second phase of the project involves developing techniques to observe the control of electrons by light waves. For this, Kling and his team will employ light flashes lasting for attosecond, which is one-billionth of a billionth of a second to capture the image of an electron. Such images obtained through the course of the electron in motion can be pieced together to yield a movie of the electron traversing through the nanostructure. Kling will carry out his research in a new space that is being constructed in the James R. Macdonald Laboratory at the University. The new research space will be equipped with a new laser system worth $1.3 million.
Source: http://www.k-state.edu