JERUSALEM, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have developed a microscopic optical device that could help improve high-power laser systems and make it easier to deliver large amounts of light through optical fibers, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said Tuesday.
The device, a Photonic Lantern, produced via microscopic 3D printing, collects light from arrays of small semiconductor lasers called Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers, and combines them into a single multimode optical fiber, according to the study published on Nature Communications.
Combining light from many lasers into one fiber has been challenging because each laser produces light in several spatial patterns, or modes. Traditional photonic lanterns, designed for simpler single-mode inputs, struggled with powerful multimode laser arrays.
The new design efficiently combines many multimode lasers while maintaining brightness, successfully merging light from seven, 19, and even 37 lasers into a single fiber in experiments.
Despite handling dozens of lasers, the device is extremely compact at under half a millimeter long, and shows very low energy loss, making it promising for future optical communication and high-power laser technologies. ■
