Tiny photonic devices could be used to find new exoplanets, monitor our health, and make the internet more energy efficient. Researchers now present a game changing microcomb that could bring advanced applications closer to reality. The new microcomb is a coherent, tunable and reproducible device with up to ten times higher net conversion efficiency than the current state of the art.
A microcomb is a photonic device capable of generating a myriad of optical frequencies -- colours -- on a tiny cavity known as microresonator. These colours are uniformly distributed so the microcomb behaves like a 'ruler made of light'. The device can be used to measure or generate frequencies with extreme precision.
In a recent article in the journal Nature Photonics, eight Chalmers researchers describe a new kind of microcomb on a chip, based on two microresonators. The new microcomb is a coherent, tunable and reproducible device with up to ten times higher net conversion efficiency than the current state of the art.
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