Researchers at New York University have discovered a new class of materials—dubbed “gyromorphs”—that could accelerate the development of light-based computers. These materials combine liquid- and crystal-like properties to form a superior isotropic bandgap structure, capable of blocking light from all incoming directions. The breakthrough, published in Physical Review Letters, offers a path toward faster and more energy-efficient computing systems powered by photons instead of electricity.
The challenge in optical computing has been rerouting microscopic light signals across a chip without signal loss. Traditional materials, including quasicrystals, either block light completely but only from certain directions or diffuse it imperfectly from all directions. NYU’s gyromorphs overcome this trade-off through a new kind of “correlated disorder,” producing structures that are neither fully ordered nor fully random. Using algorithmic design, the researchers identified patterns that optimize light control—creating materials that could enhance the performance of future optical chips and metamaterial systems.
The team, led by Professor Stefano Martiniani at NYU’s Courant Institute, developed the materials in collaboration with the Simons Center for Computational Physical Chemistry and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The discovery could also influence broader research in photonic crystals, waveguides, and AI-driven materials design.
• Gyromorphs combine characteristics of liquids and crystals to produce improved isotropic bandgaps
• Discovery stems from algorithmic design of disordered, yet functional, metamaterials
• Outperforms quasicrystals in blocking light uniformly from all directions
• Supported by Simons Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research
• Research published in Physical Review Letters by NYU’s Martiniani Lab
“Gyromorphs are unlike any known structure in that their unique makeup gives rise to better isotropic bandgap materials than is possible with current approaches,” said Stefano Martiniani, assistant professor of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and neural science at NYU.
🌐 Analysis: The discovery of gyromorphs marks a potential inflection point for photonic computing, where controlling light at the nanoscale is key to achieving low-power, ultra-fast information processing. This aligns with global research into optical interconnects and quantum-inspired materials, echoing recent work at MIT, Stanford, and EPFL on photonic chips and disordered metamaterials. NYU’s findings suggest that algorithmically designed “structured disorder” could become a new paradigm for optical hardware innovation.
