Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin, Universität Hamburg, and Universidade Federal do Ceará in Brazil showed that synthetic crystals of tiny gold spheres, so-called nanoparticles, bind light. Inside the crystal, a beam of light becomes a mix of light and matter, in this case, excited gold electrons.

Theoretical physicists have studied systems that extremely strongly couple with light for years, but synthesizing them proved difficult and expensive. “We designed a very simple system. The exotic conditions for light emerge naturally while the crystal forms,” says Stephanie Reich.

With the new method, scientists want to synthesize more materials by changing the microscopic crystal structure and to fabricate materials with various properties from one building block. They aim to develop materials in which two light quanta interact. That will be a key material for an optical information technology that works with light. This technology will require less energy than our current solutions and will allow revolutionary concepts like quantum computing.

Publication in Nature