The University of Twente integrated-photonics narrowband tunable laser was created on a chip by LioniX International (top). In the chip, a laser-gain section is hybridly attached to a tunable reflector, creating an external-cavity laser (bottom). The gain section creates the first mirror and the necessary gain, the silicon nitride based TriPleX portion acts as a tunable wavelength-dependent mirror. (TriPleX is a LioniX process.)
Researchers from the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology and chipmaking company LioniX International (both in Enschede, Netherlands) have developed the world's most-narrowband laser diode on a chip.1
The tunable indium phosphide/silicon nitride (InP-Si3N4) hybrid integrated-photonics laser has an intrinsic laser linewidth of only 290 Hz and a spectral coverage of 81 nm at 1550 nm.
Team leader Klaus Boller of the University of Twente notes that the laser is ten times more coherent (ten times narrower bandwidth) than any other laser on a chip.
The researchers say that the new laser will bring numerous applications within reach that include controlling movable antennae on phone masts for 5G mobile internet, faster fiber-optic data transmission, and more-accurate GPS systems and sensors for monitoring the structural integrity of buildings and bridges.
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.
