Computer Chips of Spider Silk

Oct-16-12 Spider silk has found yet another use in technology—this time as a biodegradable substitute for fiber optic cables.

Building upon their discovery that light can move as easily through a silk strand as through fiber optic cable, a team from the Institut de Physique de Rennes in France experimented with transmitting light down a strand of silk on an integrated computer chip. The silk was successful in ferrying the information, though it suffered about four times more loss than the glass alternative. However, team leader Nolwenn Huby believes its capabilities could be improved with further development.

The silk alternative could have medical applications for internal imaging or as a safe infection-monitoring internal bandage that could be left in the body for later absorption.

Image: A silk fiber integrated into a photonic chip, connecting three disks that can hold light. Light is injected into one of the disks and propagates along the silk to the other two.

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[INHABITAT.COM]
[WIRED]

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