Scientists create miniature lasers to make processors faster and lower power

A team of scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of California, Santa Barbara, Sandia National Laboratory and Harvard University, are able to make micro-lasers directly on silicon, making a huge breakthrough for the semiconductor industry.

the study

For more than 30 years, silicon lattices and special laser materials have not been matched and it is only now possible to integrate these two materials. Like the research group, which publishes an article in the annual bulletin in Applied Physics, which integrates subwavelength cavities, is a necessary component of a tiny laser that creates and displays high-density, on-chip light-emitting elements on silicon.

To accomplish this goal, researchers must address the defects in the silicon lattice that are consistent with those grown on lattice-matched gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates. The nano-mode created on silicon allows almost no defects in the GaAs template on the silicon, and the quantum confinement grows on this template, allowing the laser to be made possible.

The team then uses optical pumping to handle the laser, rather than electrons, low-energy photons in the atom or molecule, "pumping" to a higher energy level and letting the device work like a laser.

"Letting lasers on microprocessors improve their capabilities so they can operate at a lower energy level is a big step toward integrating photonics and electronics on a silicon platform," said Kei May, professor of computer science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Lau said.

Traditionally, lasers used in commercial applications, typically 1mm x 1mm, are quite large. Smaller lasers can suffer from large image losses.

But the researchers said they were able to overcome this challenge by passing tiny echo-corridor-mode lasers only 1 micron in diameter, 1,000 times shorter and 1 million times smaller than those currently used.

Echo Corridor mode lasers are a compelling light source for optical communications on chips, data processing and chemosensing applications.

"Our lasers have very low thresholds and tiny volumes that can be integrated into microprocessors," Lau notes. "These tiny high-performance lasers can grow directly on silicon wafers, which is the vast majority of integration Circuit (semiconductor chip) manufacturing raw materials. "

application

For applications, this micro-laser is well suited for high-speed data communications.

"Photons are the most energy-efficient and economical solution for transmitting large amounts of data over long distances, and so far the laser sources for these applications have been" off the chip, "missing from the assembly," Lau explains. "Our The study is to make a chip-integrated laser, a relatively independent component relative to other silicon photons and microprocessors "

future

Researchers hope to apply this technology to the market within 10 years. Next, the team will use microelectronics to work for electrically excited lasers.

Sporting Goods

Sporting Goods,Yoga Equipment,Yoga Supplies,Yoga Materials

Jiangsu Real Sporting Goods Limited Company , https://www.ruiousporting.com