Krystalldelers
Krystalldelers are a class of nanoscale crystalline optical components described in speculative engineering and science fiction as devices that control the timing of light pulses in photonic circuits. The term combines krystal (crystal) with delers (delayers) to denote their primary function: delaying or advancing optical signals within integrated systems. While not established in real-world physics, the concept has been used in theoretical discussions and fictional worlds to explore on-chip timing and synchronization challenges.
Design and operation: Krystalldelers are envisioned as engineered photonic-crystal lattices embedded in a solid-state matrix. Their
Performance and limitations: Important metrics include achievable delay range, insertion loss, bandwidth, and tuning speed. Real-world
Applications: In fiction and speculative engineering, Krystalldelers are proposed for optical buffering, time-domain multiplexing, quantum memory,
Variants and history: Reported variants include passive crystalline delay lines and actively tunable devices leveraging electro-optic
See also: Photonic crystal, optical buffer, quantum memory, slow light.