Researchers develop major breakthrough that could change the future of computing power: 'Up to one's imagination where this might go'

A government lab has been home to an impressive light show as researchers there develop breakthrough optoelectronic tech that could improve future computing power. 

The work is about as technical as you can get, involving LEDs and spinning photons and electrons, all according to experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado. 

Exactly where the research will lead is a bit vague, even to the experts. 

"It's up to one's imagination where this might go or where this might end up," NREL senior research fellow Matthew Beard, coauthor of the work, said. 

Optoelectronics are devices that use electric charge to generate light or use light to generate current. The latter example is akin to a solar cell, according to a ScienceDirect description. 

The complicated NREL lab research also involves perovskite layers. Perovskites are minerals capable of turning sunlight into energy when part of a solar cell. With the material's help, the team was able to make a polarized LED "that emits spin-controlled photons at room temperature without the use of magnetic fields or ferromagnetic contacts" — a significant milestone, they said. Next, they were able to make an LED that also controls electron spin, all per the lab summary. 

Controlling up-or-down electron spin is the key finding, as it could create a new way for optoelectronic devices to function. Typically, they rely on the "interconversion between charge and light," according to the experts.

The researchers used two different perovskite layers to create a "filter" that prevents electrons from moving in the wrong direction. Importantly, the spin-control breakthrough removes the need for subzero temperatures for it all to function, according to the lab report. 

How might it all impact your daily life? The experts said the tech could be used to speed up data processing, using less power. 

"Most current-day technologies are all based on controlling charge," Beard said in the summary. "Most people just forget about the electron spin, but spin is very important, and it's also another parameter that one can control and utilize."

While reports about spinning electrons might not immediately turn many heads, the research is indicative of fascinating advances in how we can power even small, wearable tech and medical devices. 

Scientists at North Carolina State are developing yarn-like supercapacitors that could be woven into clothing to power small electronics. In South Korea, flexible solar cells are in the works to energize on-body gadgets, as well. 

Other small-scale LED efforts can also lead to big results. Simply replacing the traditional light bulbs in your house with LEDs can save you $600 a year, when switching out at least 40 of them. What's more, the cleaner lighting produces five times less heat-trapping air pollution than standard bulbs. 

Cutting planet-warming gas production, even incrementally, can help in the overall effort to prevent worst-case scenarios that could be realized as our world warms. NASA has linked the rising mercury to an increased risk for severe weather, being realized in a growing number of neighborhoods nationwide. Extreme storms, droughts, and wildfires are also creating more property damage, which is impacting insurance premiums and availability. 

Controlling electron spin in an optoelectronic device isn't going to save the day on its own. But it's proof that scientists are continuing to push knowledge boundaries to groundbreaking levels. 

"This work is particularly exciting to me … we've transformed an already robust (and well understood) technology into a futuristic spin-control device," research first author Matthew Hautzinger said in the lab summary. 

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