New Laser Based on Unusual Physics Phenomenon Could Improve Telecommunications, Computing and More
by noreply@blogger.com (brian wang) from NextBigFuture.com on (#2BS0Y)
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have demonstrated the world's first laser based on an unconventional wave physics phenomenon called bound states in the continuum. The technology could revolutionize the development of surface lasers, making them more compact and energy-efficient for communications and computing applications. The new BIC lasers could also be developed as high-power lasers for industrial and defense applications.
"Lasers are ubiquitous in the present day world, from simple everyday laser pointers to complex laser interferometers used to detect gravitational waves. Our current research will impact many areas of laser applications," said Ashok Kodigala, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego and first author of the study.
"Because they are unconventional, BIC lasers offer unique and unprecedented properties that haven't yet been realized with existing laser technologies," said Boubacar Kanti(C), electrical engineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who led the research.
BIC lasers can be readily tuned to emit beams of different wavelengths, a useful feature for medical lasers made to precisely target cancer cells without damaging normal tissue. BIC lasers can also be made to emit beams with specially engineered shapes (spiral, donut or bell curve) - called vector beams - which could enable increasingly powerful computers and optical communication systems that can carry up to 10 times more information than existing ones.
"Light sources are key components of optical data communications technology in cell phones, computers and astronomy, for example. In this work, we present a new kind of light source that is more efficient than what's available today in terms of power consumption and speed," said Babak Bahari, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student in Kanti(C)'s lab and a co-author of the study.
The new BIC lasers have the potential to be developed as high-power lasers for industrial and defense applications. The technology could also revolutionize the development of surface lasers for communications and computing applications.
The BIC system created by Kanti(C)'s group is powered with a high frequency laser beam that induced its own laser beam with a lower frequency. "Ideally, this BIC laser would be powered by a physical battery instead of being powered by another laser," said Kanti(C).
Unique to the BIC laser is the capability of achieving surface lasing without compromising its compact form. "We demonstrate lasing in the telecommunication band (~1.55 I1/4m) with laser arrays as small as 8-by-8 (~8 x 8 I1/4m)," Kanti(C) said. Other common surface lasers called VCELs - vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers - need arrays about 100 times larger to achieve lasing. The smaller array consumes less power thus is more energy efficient than other surface lasers.
"Lasing action from photonic bound states in continuum." Authors of the study are: Ashok Kodigala*, Thomas Lepetit*, Qing Gu*, Babak Bahari, Yeshaiahu Fainman and Boubacar Kanti(C) of UC San Diego.
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"Lasers are ubiquitous in the present day world, from simple everyday laser pointers to complex laser interferometers used to detect gravitational waves. Our current research will impact many areas of laser applications," said Ashok Kodigala, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego and first author of the study.
"Because they are unconventional, BIC lasers offer unique and unprecedented properties that haven't yet been realized with existing laser technologies," said Boubacar Kanti(C), electrical engineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who led the research.
BIC lasers can be readily tuned to emit beams of different wavelengths, a useful feature for medical lasers made to precisely target cancer cells without damaging normal tissue. BIC lasers can also be made to emit beams with specially engineered shapes (spiral, donut or bell curve) - called vector beams - which could enable increasingly powerful computers and optical communication systems that can carry up to 10 times more information than existing ones.
"Light sources are key components of optical data communications technology in cell phones, computers and astronomy, for example. In this work, we present a new kind of light source that is more efficient than what's available today in terms of power consumption and speed," said Babak Bahari, an electrical engineering Ph.D. student in Kanti(C)'s lab and a co-author of the study.
The new BIC lasers have the potential to be developed as high-power lasers for industrial and defense applications. The technology could also revolutionize the development of surface lasers for communications and computing applications.
The BIC system created by Kanti(C)'s group is powered with a high frequency laser beam that induced its own laser beam with a lower frequency. "Ideally, this BIC laser would be powered by a physical battery instead of being powered by another laser," said Kanti(C).
Unique to the BIC laser is the capability of achieving surface lasing without compromising its compact form. "We demonstrate lasing in the telecommunication band (~1.55 I1/4m) with laser arrays as small as 8-by-8 (~8 x 8 I1/4m)," Kanti(C) said. Other common surface lasers called VCELs - vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers - need arrays about 100 times larger to achieve lasing. The smaller array consumes less power thus is more energy efficient than other surface lasers.
"Lasing action from photonic bound states in continuum." Authors of the study are: Ashok Kodigala*, Thomas Lepetit*, Qing Gu*, Babak Bahari, Yeshaiahu Fainman and Boubacar Kanti(C) of UC San Diego.
Read more