AT&T Co claims that a new class of silicon-based plastics developed at its Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey may have applications in optical computing and signal processing, and integrated digital systems. Key feature of the polysilenes is that they are found to conduct light waves in much the same way that metal conducts electricity; they are prepared by using ultrasonic waves to coerce Silicon atoms into disorganised networks, creating thousands of optical interconnections. The new plastics were discovered during research into optical waveguide connections, and AT&T says that the creation of polysilenes accelerates its work.
