A new chip-scale laser developed by researchers in the lab of engineering professor Qiang Lin can conduct extremely fast and accurate measurements by very precisely changing its color across a broad spectrum of light at very fast rates.
A newly developed chip-scale laser has applications ranging from guiding autonomous vehicles to detecting gravitational waves.
Researchers from the University of Rochester and the University of California, Santa Barbara, have engineered this laser device smaller than a penny.
Laser-based measurement, or optical metrology, is important in understanding our world. From mapping terrain to analyzing materials, lasers provide incredible precision.
The main hurdle has always been the large, expensive equipment, making widespread, cost-effective adoption difficult until now — as this new chip-scale could change everything.
Researchers demonstrate how their laser could drive a LiDAR system on a spinning disc and identify the letters U and R made from LEGO blocks. (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
Unparalleled laser speed
This innovative chip has an extraordinary capability as it can perform measurements with unparalleled speed and precision by altering its color across a vast spectrum of light.
Surprisingly, the chip can change its light’s color at an astonishing rate of approximately 10 quintillion times per second.
The rapid and precise tunability allows for accurate optical metrology, opening doors for advanced applications that demand instantaneous and granular control over laser properties.
“There are several applications we aim for that can already benefit from our designs,” said Shixin Xue, a PhD student advised by Qiang Lin, the Dean’s Professor of electrical and computer engineering and optics.
“The first is LiDAR, which is already used in autonomous vehicles, but a more advanced form known as frequency-modulated continuous-wave LiDAR requires a large tuning range and fast tuning of the laser’s frequency, and that’s what our laser can do.”
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a widely used remote sensing technology. It measures distances by emitting pulsed laser light and then timing how long it takes for that light to reflect off objects and return to the sensor.
The technique creates 3D representations of surroundings for applications like autonomous vehicles and detailed mapping.
Shows promise in testing
The new miniature chip is made from a synthetic material called lithium niobate.
The device utilizes the Pockels effect, a remarkable physical property that enables an electric field to modify a material’s light-bending ability.
Researchers showcased the potential of their novel chip-scale laser by integrating it into a miniature LiDAR system. This system, mounted on a spinning disc, successfully identified specific LEGO blocks (shaped as “U” and “R”).
This small-scale demonstration highlights the laser’s precise distance measurement and object identification capability.
The team is confident that this technology can be scaled up for real-world applications like detecting vehicles and obstacles at highway speeds and distances, crucial for autonomous driving.
But the applications don’t stop there. The researchers also demonstrated its use in Pound-Drever-Hall laser frequency locking. This is a technique for stabilizing lasers and reducing their noise.
“It’s a very important process that can be used for optical clocks that can measure time with extreme precision,” added Xue.
Typically, setting up a system for precise laser control, like those used in optical clocks, demands a bulky array of instruments such as an isolator, an acoustic optic modulator, and a phase modulator.
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“Our laser can integrate all of these things into a very small chip that can be tuned electrically,” the author noted.
Recently, YouTuber and inventor Styropyro has created a 250-watt handheld laser device, which he claims is approximately 50,000 times more powerful than standard commercial laser pointers.
The findings were published in the journal Light: Science & Applications.
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