Nanocomposite Material Protects Against Intense Light

Optical limiting — a manner of telecom switching without the use of electronics — is an all-optical method that could improve the speed and capacity of Internet communications. A material created using tellurium nanorods — produced by naturally occurring bacteria — is an effective nonlinear optical material capable of protecting electronic devices against high-intensity bursts of light, including those emitted by inexpensive household lasers targeted at aircraft, drones, or other critical systems.