Anti-Laser

Everyone knows what a laser is (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), but what the heck is an anti-laser?

As its name would suggest it's (Light Adsorption by Stimulated Absorption of Radiation). In other words it can absorb laser light at a precise frequency. The proper name for this is CPA (Coherent Perfect Absorber).

A laser works by creating a coherent light beam by bouncing light off of mirrors in an optical cavity of the correct size. This process has been around for quite some time and is used for a lot of interesting applications, including optical computing, laser surgery, and precise cutting.

The idea of bringing two opposing forces together in one device was considered impossible. However, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Nation Laboratory have done just that. They created a device that acts as both a laser and an anti-laser at the same time.

Instead of amplifying coherent light like a laser, an anti-laser does the opposite. It completely absorbs coherent light. A device that could do both in one unit is very important to creating a photonic integrated circuit. Using light circuits as a means of creating amplifiers and computers has been around for some time, but this new idea would make it possible to miniaturize the process. Keep in mind that anything that can amplify could be used in place of electronic devices that operate at the speed of light.

One trick that these scientists discovered is that they could adjust the amount of amplification and absorption to create unbalance in two beams.  Anything that could do this would act as a component in a communications device. In other words it would act as a high-speed modulator of laser beams. Modulation is necessary for sending data.

Supposedly, this device was constructed from indium gallium arsenide phosphide, which is used as an optical amplifier. They had to create a repeating pattern that was 200 micrometers long and 1.5 micrometers wide by using nanofabricating technology. That's tiny stuff by any stretch of the imagination.

Needless to say, this concept relies on a strange quantum principle called parity-time symmetry and time reversal. Basically, it means that an amplification step can be reversed or flipped at will without loss. It's amazing what can be done when quantum physics can be applied to real world devices.
This concept could lead to some very interesting new devices.

Thanks for reading.