New Generation of Minute Lasers Steps Into the Light

摘要

Long-awaited long-wavelength Raman lasers built on microchips are primed to take the next strides in merging light beams and electronics. Microchip-based diode lasers have had a good run. They're at the heart of CD and DVD players, computer disc optical drives, and a host of medical devices. Together, these and other applications add up to a sweet 3.5 dollar billion market. But diode lasers can't do it all Researchers have struggled to get them to produce the long-wavelength light—ranging from the mid-infrared to terahertz frequencies—that is highly sought after for applications from explosives detection to bromedical imaging. Researchers have also had a tough time making the lasers out of silicon, the workhorse of computer technology, an advancethat could vastly improve computer processing speeds by enabling chips within computers and local networks to send signals through high-speed glass fibers instead of metal wires. Now a spate of advances could finally help chip-based lasers leap those hurdles.