I-Corps: Ultra-compact, scalable, and steerable electrically-pumped, surface-emitting lasers

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发超紧凑，可扩展和可操纵的电泵浦表面发射激光器，用于移动，传感和通信。 如果成功，拟议的激光技术将能够扩展到许多商业应用，包括LiDAR，智能手机（和其他消费电子产品），5G和物联网技术，医疗设备以及其他需要新型光源的应用。此外，该技术还可能促进新光源应用的发现，从而推动光子学的进步。I-Corps的这个项目是基于以非常规方式限制光的光学腔的发展。本论文的研究重点是基于拓扑结构和连续束缚态的新型激光器。这种限制光的方法受到量子力学早期理论工作的启发。所提出的方法可用于"堵塞漏光腔"。 与通常的限制腔损耗的方式不同，通过减少光可以逃逸的通道的大小和数量，腔的设计产生了破坏性的干涉。 当光被允许逃逸时，通过不同通道的多个波最终会相互抵消。这种在腔中捕获光的机制是基于多个衰减通道的相消干涉，这些通道本质上是由诸如可调谐性、光束转向和功率缩放等功能实现的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of ultra-compact, scalable and steerable, electrically-pumped surface-emitting lasers for mobility, sensing, and communication. If successful, the proposed laser technology will be able to be scaled into many commercial applications including LiDAR, smartphones (and other consumer electronics), 5G and IoT technologies, medical devices, and other applications that require novel light sources. In addition, the proposed technology also may promote the discovery of applications of novel light sources, and thus promote the progress of photonics.This I-Corps project is based on the development of optical cavities that confine light in unconventional ways. This research focuses on novel lasers based on topology and bound state in continuum. This confinement method for light was inspired by early theoretical works in quantum mechanics. The proposed method may be used to “plug leaky light cavities.” Instead of limiting cavity losses the usual way, by reducing the size and number of passages through which light can escape, the cavity’s design produces destructive interferences. When light is allowed to escape, the multiple waves that do so through different passages end up canceling each other. This mechanism of trapping light in the cavity is based on destructive interference of multiple decay channels intrinsically enabled by functionalities such as tunability, beam steering, and power scaling. The proposed technology may enable applications in mobility, sensing, and communication.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.