NIST Scientists Create an 'Every Wavelength' Laser

NIST researchers stacked special materials on a silicon wafer to create an integrated photonics chip that processes light like an electronic chip.

The key is a method of stacking materials with different functions in three dimensions.

• lithium niobate: changes the color of incoming light and, controlled electrically, aids conversion and switching.
• tantalum pentoxide (tantala): can take a single laser color and convert it across the entire visible spectrum and a wide infrared range.
• Through this, generation, conversion, and routing of light are all handled simultaneously on a single chip.

The researchers integrated about 50 fingernail-sized chips and 10,000 photonic circuits per chip onto a single wafer, with each circuit producing a different color of output.

This technology is especially important for quantum computers and optical atomic clocks. Different types of atoms require different laser wavelengths, and existing custom-built lasers are large, expensive, and power-hungry. If chip-based lasers become possible, it could lead to devices that are smaller, cheaper, and portable.

The potential applications extend beyond the quantum field.

• High-speed signal transmission between AI systems
• Optical improvements for VR displays
• Precision navigation, communications, biomedicine

Mass production is not yet underway, but NIST is verifying scalability together with the startup Octave Photonics.