The Scientists at University of Washington and Stanford University built a new nanometer-sized laser which uses a tungsten-based semiconductor only three atoms thick as the “gain material” that emits light.
We know that lasers play essential roles in countless technologies, from medical therapies to metal cutters to electronic gadgets. But to meet modern needs in computation, communications, imaging and sensing, scientists are striving to create ever-smaller laser systems that also consume less energy.
Nanolasers — which are so small they can’t be seen with the eye — have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications from next-generation computing to implantable microchips that monitor health problems.
The UW nanolaser is energy efficient, easy to build and compatible with existing electronics. This technology is described in a paper published in the March 16 online edition of Nature.
Compared to other nanolaser designs, that makes them difficult to build and integrate with modern electrical circuits and computing technologies.
But this UW’s nanolaser can be easily fabricated to work with silicon components common in modern electronics.
The UW version uses a flat sheet that can be placed directly on top of a commonly used optical cavity, a tiny cave that confines and intensifies light. The ultra thin nature of the semiconductor — made from a single layer of a tungsten-based molecule — yields efficient coordination between the two key components of the laser.
Using photons rather than electrons to transfer that information would consume less energy and could enable next-generation computing that breaks current bandwidth and power limitations. The recently proven UW nanolaser technology is one step toward making optical computing and short distance optical communication a reality.
