Controlling electronic current is essential to modern electronics, as data and signals are transferred by streams of electrons which are controlled at high speed. Demands on transmission speeds are also increasing as technology develops. Scientists have now succeeded in switching on a current with a desired direction in graphene using a single laser pulse within a femtosecond. This is more than a thousand times faster compared to the most efficient transistors today.

Source: Physicists demonstrate using a laser to control a current in graphene within just one femtosecond