Scientists Trap Light Inside a Magnet

Light has been successfully trapped inside a metamaterial by scientists at The City College of New York (CCNY), resulting in a remarkable 10x increase in magnetic capabilities, according to Popular Mechanics.

The material used is a magnetic van der Waals material layered with chromium, sulfur, and bromine. These materials have unique attributes and the ability to create quasiparticles known as excitons, which trap light and make the material magnetic.

Vinod M. Menon and his research group at CCNY conducted the study. Their findings were published in the journal Nature.

As CCNY's Florian Dirnberger, the study's lead author, explained, "Since the light bounces back and forth inside the magnet, interactions are genuinely enhanced. To give an example, when we apply an external magnetic field, the near-infrared reflection of light is altered so much, the material basically changes its color. That's a pretty strong magneto-optic response."

According to the researchers, this discovery opens the door to previously impossible technologies.

"Technological applications of magnetic materials today," the study's co-author Jiamin Quan said, "are mostly related to magneto-electric phenomena. Given such strong interactions between magnetism and light, we can now hope to one day create magnetic lasers and may reconsider old concepts of optically controlled magnetic memory."

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