A few days ago, Yale University scientists created a new type of silicon laser that uses sound waves to amplify light.
Associate Professor of Applied Physics at Yale University led the study. “In the past few years, we have seen explosive growth in silicon photonics. We are beginning to see these technologies enter consumer products and make our data centers run faster. We have also discovered that new photonic devices and technologies are expected to revolutionize in areas such as biosensing and on-chip quantum information."
Light is amplified in the runway-shaped laser design fence to capture light in a circular motion. Runway design is a key part of innovation. In this way, we can put the light to the maximum and provide the maximum feedback for the lasing. In order to use sound waves to amplify light, silicon lasers have a special structure. Essentially, the special structure is a nano-scale waveguide designed to strictly limit light and sound waves and maximize the interaction between light and sound waves. This waveguide is unique in that there are two different optical transmission channels. This allows us to influence photoacoustic coupling with a fairly reliable and flexible laser design.
The semiconductor laser has the characteristics of high-speed modulation, power stability, narrow line width, small size, compact structure, and integrated drive circuit. Semiconductor lasers have excellent beam quality and modulation performance and are widely used in scientific research, industrial instrument development, and OEM system integration. In addition, pigtailed semiconductor lasers, external fiber coupling modules, and small semiconductor pumped solid state lasers are available.
Semiconductor astronomy laser pointer provide scientific or integrated users with outstanding laser products for the most advanced laser systems. Semiconductor lasers have high efficiency of photoelectric conversion, and can be directly applied to laser processing and other fields through beam shaping. Fiber lasers have already become popular in domestic and foreign research due to their excellent beam quality. But is it possible for semiconductor lasers to directly obtain lasers with high beam quality in the future, thus "beating" fiber lasers? Can the characteristics of high conversion efficiency of semiconductor lasers become more attractive in the face of increasingly energy shortages?
The characteristics of semiconductor lasers are as follows: The unique design of semiconductor lasers uses multiple high-power single-tube lasers in series instead of bar strips, eliminating the smile effect. Full inspection, each single-tube laser is fully tested and has a separate test report. Aging test, strict aging test. Strictly selected, each tube is individually selected. Series connection, series connection, damage to a single tube does not affect overall performance. Power supply design is convenient, using high voltage and low current power supply, easy to design, and low price. Passivation treatment, special passivation treatment process, greatly increasing the service life. Low power consumption, no power attenuation, high efficiency of photoelectric conversion of semiconductor lasers and low power consumption. Semiconductor lasers are easy to cool and do not require microchannel cooling. Fiber coupling for fiber-coupled output.
There are two main challenges in developing new lasers: first, designing and fabricating devices in which amplification exceeds losses, and second pointing to the counter-intuitive dynamics of the system. Although the system is an optical laser, it also produces very consistent supersonic waves.
Researchers say that if this structure is not used, optical amplification using sonic waves will not be possible in silicon. “The photo-acoustic interactions we have used have not previously existed in these optical circuits, and we have turned them into the most powerful amplification mechanism in silicon. Now we can use it for several new types of laser technology. None of these technologies existed 10 years ago."