Dave5

The team show how a silicon nitride photonics crystal with a thin silicon membrane can achieve the high levels of reflectivity in the 1300nm to 1500nm wavelengths required for light sails. The potential in the sails is significant with the manufacturing techniques able to scale up to several metres which may well set the scene for finally, if not slowly, sending humans across the galaxy¹. 

1. A weird thing to say, given that’s not a goal of Starshot ↩︎