New resonator turns infrared light into high-energy ultraviolet light

New resonator turns infrared light into high-energy ultraviolet light

Existing UV light sources have lower power, are bulky and expensive. Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a more intelligent method to manufacture high-density UV light sources with less energy consumption. In terms of information storage, microscopy and chemical analysis Has broad application prospects. The study was published in the newly published "Optical Express".

Researchers have improved an optical resonator that can turn inexpensive telecommunications infrared light into a high-energy ultraviolet laser beam. The resonator is a millimeter-grade lithium niobate echo gallery resonator. The inside is made into a precise structure and polished to make its surface extremely smooth. When the input beam passes through the internal resonance line, it will gain energy.

The researchers explained that the new resonator is a 4-fold frequency laser generator that continuously emits ultraviolet light. In the experiment, they driven the telecom infrared beam to combine with the resonator, through a diamond prism can produce four kinds of ultraviolet, visible, near infrared and infrared spectrum, and can be collected through multimode fiber.

"If the laser is changed from green to blue, its efficiency will decrease, and it will be more difficult if it is turned into an ultraviolet laser. This rule was first proposed by Einstein to explain why not all the green laser pointers contain Green laser, which actually divides the wavelength of a red laser into a green laser. "Said Mona Gallosi, associate professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan who led the research." We optimized the optics. The structure of the resonator can obtain more energy in a wider range of light waves, and a low-power infrared light source with a low-power infrared light is produced. "

Gallosi also pointed out that ultraviolet light sources have a wide range of applications in chemical detection, high-definition medical imaging, high-precision integrated circuit printing, and expansion of computer memory. But the shorter the target wavelength, the more difficult it is to generate laser light and the lower the efficiency. Frequency conversion is like turning up the volume of a speaker to get a new frequency sound. The new technology drives the light beam through the nonlinear medium, which can generate and double the light branch. The frequency and energy of the obtained ultraviolet light is 4 times the original input beam, and the wavelength is 1/4 of the original.