Scientists at Intel have made a scientific breakthrough in the development and application of silicon lasers, which have enormous potential for use in medicine.
Just a few years ago, many researchers thought it would be impossible to use silicon–the fundamental material used in the electronics industry–to make photonic devices such as lasers. But recent advances have shown that, with clever engineering tricks, silicon can emit light. Now, researchers at Intel have reached another milestone. They have made a silicon laser that is far more efficient than previous silicon lasers, yet it operates at just a tenth of the power. The results are good enough for researchers to start integrating the laser into chips that could be used for medical and security applications, says Mario Paniccia, Intel research fellow and director of its silicon photonics lab.
In addition to having increased efficiency, says Paniccia, the new laser emits an extremely pure color of light, meaning the wavelength of the light is centered on a tiny region of the electromagnetic spectrum. “It’s actually better than any [semiconductor] laser you can buy,” says Paniccia. He says that the research over the past 12 months has taken silicon lasers “from a nice lab measurement to performance levels that are practical.” In medical devices, for instance, the laser could find cancerous tumors because it emits near-infrared light that is absorbed by tumors. The laser could also be used to detect trace amounts of certain chemicals used in weapons, which also absorb near-infrared light.
Full article at MIT’s Technology Review…