Paving the way for new light-powered devices By combining cutting-edge concepts from theoretical physics, researchers from Penn Engineering developed ‘sypersymmetric microlaser arrays’ that are both stable and have high power density.
The field of photonics involves the study of new ways to generate and harness light, akin to how many of the devices used in everyday life run on electric current. While photonic devices have the potential to transform the current technology paradigm through increased speed, efficiency, and information density, their broad application is limited by the size, strength, and stability of the light sources, often lasers, in these devices.
2D Microlaser Arrays Give Integrated Photonic Systems a Boost | Research & Technology | Apr 2021 photonics.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from photonics.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Particle physics maths rescues laser array mode locking
How can anyone persuade an array of lasers to emit a single-mode coherent beam? was the question being asked by a team of US researchers.
“One seemingly straightforward method to achieve a high-power single-mode laser is to couple multiple identical single-mode lasers together to form a laser array,” said University of Pennsylvania scientist Liang Feng. “Intuitively, this laser array would have an enhanced emission power, but because of complexity associated with a coupled system, it will also have multiple super-modes – the competition between modes makes the laser array less coherent.”
Coupling two lasers produces two super-modes, then the number of unwanted modes increases quadratically as lasers are arrayed in two-dimensional grids.
DVIDS - News - Army-funded research paves way for improved lasers, communications dvidshub.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dvidshub.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Metrohm USA Announces 9th Annual Young Chemist Award Winner
Metrohm USA is pleased to announce the winner of its 2021 Young Chemist Award, Ryan Jansonius. Ryan is a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia where his research centers around developing technologies that use inexpensive and abundant renewable electricity to drive otherwise environmentally costly chemical transformations.
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The production of fuels, plastics, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and specialty chemicals consumes 10% of the energy produced worldwide, and is responsible for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions. By developing ways to produce these useful chemicals using only abundant feedstocks and renewable electricity, Ryan’s research enables ways to offset these emissions. The aim is to produce renewable diesel, pharmaceuticals and a host of bio-derived specialty chemicals in a way that is cleaner, safer, and cheaper than conventional methods.