“The device absorbs the incoming laser energy and transforms light rays into electricity or heat”, told SINC A. Douglas Stone, a researcher at Yale University (USA) and member of the team that developed the first AntiLaser the world.

The mechanism, called “perfect consistency buffer (CPA for short in English), two laser beams focused to a specific frequency within a cavity that contains a disk of silicon as semiconductor material. The hard lines of light waves that bounce off indefinitely until absorbed and converted into heat, as detailed in the article published today Science.

Fifty years after the invention of the laser, “the running AntiLaser Optio fundamental process that has not been studied so far,” said Douglas Stone. It is, therefore, a laser that works in reverse: absorb light at specific frequencies rather than emitting it.

The device measures about an inch in diameter but scientists hope to build one of only six microns. For now, the AntiLaser absorbs 99.4% of incoming light, but should be able to absorb 99.999%. “I hope they begin to approach the theoretical limit as we build more sophisticated CPA,” says the researcher.

Computer Applications and radiology

The next generation of computers, known as “optical” could use this new technology in switches, sensors and various components. In addition, the AntiLaser could be used in the field of radiology, to direct the electromagnetic radiation to a region of human tissue opaque. In this way, we could obtain images or use the mechanism for therapeutic purposes.

The scientists hope that in the future, the device is capable of absorbing visible light and infrared specific frequencies used in optical fiber communications.

Source: SINC