Silicon is an outstanding candidate for developing new types of devices for controling multiple light beams, according to new research from the University of Surrey, suggesting new possibilities for the production of lasers and displays.
The researchers found that silicon possesses the strongest nonlinearity for manipulating laser beams – for example, changing their colour.
Ben Murdin, co-author of the study and Professor of Physics at the University of Surrey, said: "Our finding was lucky because we weren't looking for it. We were trying to understand how a very small number of phosphorus atoms in a silicon crystal could be used for making a quantum computer and how to use light beams to control quantum information stored in the phosphorus atoms.
"We were astonished to find that the phosphorus atoms were re-emitting light beams that were almost as bright as the very intense laser we were shining on them. We shelved the data for a couple of years while we thought about proving where the beams were coming from. It's a great example of the way science proceeds by accident, and also how pan-European teams can still work together very effectively."
The research is published in the journal Light: Science and Applications
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-021-00509-6
https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/study-suggests-silicon-could-be-photonics-game-changer
