English

Microcomb launches a simplified design for powerful lasers based on chips

1028
2024-05-25 14:49:56
See translation

Researchers at the University of Rochester have created new micro comb lasers that go beyond previous limitations and have simple designs suitable for various applications. The research results are published in Nature Communications.

Optical frequency combs are optical measurement instruments that have revolutionized atomic clocks, spectroscopy, metrology, and other fields. However, the difficulty of creating frequency comb generators at the semiconductor level limits their application in everyday technologies such as handheld electronic devices.

What is a micro comb?
Optical frequency combs generate spectra. They are composed of several coherent beams that are evenly spaced and adjusted to different colors or frequencies. The resulting shape is similar to the teeth on a hair comb. Scientists have been developing micro combs, a miniaturized version of this technology that can be installed on small chips.

Although progress has been made in the design of micro comb prototypes, scientists have not yet created functional versions for practical applications. Some of these challenges include low power efficiency, limited controllability, slow mechanical response, and requirements for pre configuration of complex systems.

The simplified method has been developed by a group of scientists led by Professor Lin Qiang from the Institute of Optics and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Rochester, who has developed a novel strategy to solve these problems in a single device.
The main author of this paper Lin's doctoral student Jingwei Ling claimed that previous methods often relied on injecting a single wavelength of laser into a nonlinear converter, which could then convert a single wavelength into multiple wavelengths to form an optical comb.

The simplicity of the "multi in one" micro comb laser reduces power requirements, lowers costs, and has excellent adjustability and turnkey operation.
The implementation of these micro comb lasers continues to pose challenges, especially in establishing manufacturing processes to generate such small components within the required manufacturing tolerance range. However, the researchers expect their equipment to be used in telecommunications systems and autonomous vehicle for light detection and ranging (LiDAR).

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation of the United States provided support for this research.

Source: Laser Net

Related Recommendations
  • Redefining the Future of Sensing: In depth Study of Novel Plasma Waveguide Structures

    Imagine in such a world, the detection of trace substances is not only fast, but also incredibly accurate, indicating a new era of technological progress in health, safety, and environmental monitoring. Due to pioneering research on plasma waveguide structures, this vision is becoming increasingly realistic, aimed at enhancing refractive index sensing and spectral filtering. This innovative method...

    2024-03-04
    See translation
  • The research team has developed a mechanical luminescent touch screen that can work underwater

    The optical properties of afterglow luminescent particles in mechanical luminescence and mechanical quenching have attracted much attention in various technological applications. A group of researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology has attracted attention by developing an optical display technology with ALP that can write and erase messages underwater.The team is composed of Pro...

    2024-03-08
    See translation
  • Experimental verification of driving pressure enhancement and smoothing for hybrid driven inertial confinement fusion on a 100 kJ laser device

    The research teams from the Laser Fusion Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, the Beijing Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Peking University, and Shenzhen University of Technology reported experimental verification of the driving pressure enhancement and smoothing of hybrid driven inertial confinement fusion on a 100 kJ laser equipment.The relev...

    2023-09-25
    See translation
  • Chuangxin Laser Industry Dedicated Laser and Solutions Help Promote the Intelligent Development of Cladding Application Industry

    Laser cladding technology, also known as laser additive manufacturing technology, uses high-energy laser as the heat source and metal alloy powder as the cladding material. Through the synchronous action of laser and alloy powder on the metal surface, it quickly melts to form a molten pool, and rapidly solidifies to form a dense, uniform, and controllable thickness metallurgical bonding layer, the...

    2023-11-01
    See translation
  • September 2024 China International Industry Fair Machine Tool Exhibition

    The CNC Machine Tool and Metal Processing Exhibition under the China International Industry Fair gathers global intelligent machine tool equipment and focuses on cutting-edge metal processing technology. The exhibition categories cover metal cutting, metal forming, laser processing, sheet metal stamping, machine tool supporting functional components and peripheral products, with a display area of ...

    2024-09-04
    See translation