HOBOKEN, N.J., June 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists said they have controlled one laser beam with another laser beam, creating the possibility of all-optical communications networks.
Researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology said the process, formally called interband transitions controlling intersub-band transitions, or ITCIT, effectively controls light with light.
The technology actually allows a mid-infrared laser beam to illuminate a near-infrared beam in the open air, without the need for the glass fibers normally used in fiber optic systems -- and with greater security, researchers said.
Also, the two beams of the ITCIT system -- called quantum cascade lasers, or QCLs -- operate on two different wavelengths of light that are separate and distinct, so they can handled and processed independently.
Controlling light with light opens up a world of futuristic applications, the researchers said, adding that anything imaginable using the system may at some point be possible.
