TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A research team from National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) announced Monday (Oct. 21) that it has developed a new “reverse electrostriction” technology, allowing photonic crystals to grow faster.

According to a press release, the technology can be used to create highly efficient photonics technology in displays, optical sensors, and biomedical imaging, per CNA.

Department of Photonics Professor Lin Tsung-hsien (林宗賢), who led the team, said blue-phase liquid crystal (BPLC) is a soft material with the characteristics of three-dimensional photonic crystals that can reflect specific wavelengths of light. However, with traditional manufacturing techniques, the crystals grow slowly.

With reverse electrostriction, the growth time has been reduced from several hours to a few minutes, Lin explained. As such, future optical and photonic devices can become miniaturized and energy-efficient, he added.

NSYSU said the team’s research has been published in the international journal Nature Communications and hopes the findings will open the door to high-tech optoelectronic applications.