▲ working silicon laser.
The Science Online edition reported on June 8th that Peter Rakich, an associate professor of applied physics at Yale University, invented a new type of silicon laser that The nano-waveguide structure can use sound waves to amplify light. This is important for the application of extended silicon photonic circuits.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in converting optical technology (such as fiber optics and free-space lasers as “photon” integrated circuits). Compared to conventional electronics methods, the use of light in integrated circuits enables processing and transmission of information at a faster rate. Researchers believe that silicon photonics (silicon-based optical circuits) is one of the leading platforms for this type of technology due to its compatibility with existing microelectronic devices. Lakic said: “In the past few years, silicon photonics technology has undergone an ‘explosive’ development. We are not only beginning to see these technologies enter commercial products, making the operation of the data center seamless, we also carry out new photonic devices. Research. This kind of technology is expected to make biosensing and quantum information on the chip become a reality. This is the golden age of photonic technology development.”
The rapid development of photonic technology has spawned new silicon lasers. Urgent need. However, the indirect band problem of silicon has been a hindrance to silicon photonics. Nils Otterstrom, a lead author of the paper and a graduate student at Lacchi Laboratory, said: “The inherent properties of silicon, while beneficial to many chip-scale optical technologies, also make it possible to generate current through current. Lasers have become extremely difficult. This problem has plagued scientists for many years. A combination of light and sound waves has been used in our solution to solve this problem.”
Designed by Otterstrom The core part uses a runway structure that can “trap” the light in a circular motion. With this structure, it is possible to maximize the light and provide the necessary feedback for laser generation. In order to amplify light with sound waves, the new silicon laser uses a key structure developed by Lakki Labs. Lakic explained: “The essence of this structure is nano-waveguides. It can combine light waves and sound waves to maximize their interaction.” Co-author, Lakic Labs graduate student Eric Kee Eric Kittlaus added: “The uniqueness of this waveguide is that there are two distinct ways of light propagation. This allows us to shape photoacoustic coupling with a more flexible laser design.”
Si lasers are not only an optical laser, but also produce high coherent ultrasound. These characteristics of silicon lasers have broad application potential, such as integrated oscillators and codecs.
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