Harnessing the speed of light

Science Focus

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The fields of data communication, fabrication, and ultrasound imaging share a common challenge when it comes to improving speed and efficiency: light’s diffraction limit. Nicholas Fang thinks his group at MIT might have found a solution. “In my group we play tricks with optics,” says Fang, an associate professor of mechanical engineering. These tricks have led to findings that allow for generating three-dimensional microstructures, using graphene as a more efficient delivery channel, and creating a new lens that would produce intense ultrasonic energy. With the ability to focus and target light onto the nanoscale, not only would data communication become quicker, but the diagnosis and treatment of disease would also become more precise, less invasive, less cumbersome, and more cost effective than current approaches. Narrowing the target One of Fang’s key discoveries is finding how to beat the diffraction of light. Since light and sound waves tend to spread out when blocked by an obstacle, images and communication signals can become blurry and muddled. In his lab, Fang discovered that by breaking the diffraction barrier, light signals can be sent at 10 times greater capacity. This has allowed him to produce results on the sub-nanometer scale, with light as a

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