[New micro LED optical switch performance breaks world record] On November 11, scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Notre Dame collaborated to set a new world record for the optical switch performance of quantum well light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The gallium nitride quantum well micro-LED they developed has a light modulation bandwidth of 2.75 GHz and a power consumption of only 25 milliwatts. It is expected to become a low-power alternative to lasers in short-distance optical interconnections in data centers. The relevant paper was published in the new issue of "IEEE Electronic Devices Letters". About 90% of the communications in the data center are short-range communications within 10 meters. This type of high-frequency communication currently uses lasers, but lasers consume high power and generate a lot of heat. In contrast, LED has the advantage of low power consumption and is more suitable as a low-energy light source for short-distance optical interconnections. The newly developed 5-micron quantum well micro-LED not only has high bandwidth and stable optical power, but also has low energy consumption and scalable material platform, which is expected to improve the speed and efficiency of data center communication links. (Science and Technology Daily)