A team of researchers from the US has developed the physical process that allows producing laser systems from 2D materials. Thus, this fiber laser technology promotes the discovery of a fiber optic system for providing optical gain in 2D materials at much lower density levels than conventional semiconductors. This fiber laser system can offer an alternative to standard semiconductors and play a crucial role in game-changing for energy-efficient photonic tools.
It should be noted that previous experiments demonstrate that laser systems can be made from 2D materials as thin as a single layer of molecules. Herewith, other researchers had designed these fiber lasers at cryogenic temperatures, the other team used room temperature. The standard technique of laser physics supposes that it is unreal to create laser systems with a very low amount of laser beam power being pumped into a 2D semiconductor.
To be more precise, the researchers use a new gain fiber optic technology including charged excitons or trions in an electrically gated 2D material well below the Mott density. “After examining the signatures of optical gain and their relationship with excitons and trions, the researchers were able to clearly identify the origin of optical gain as being trionic in nature.”
The thing is that the thinness of the 2D materials, electrons, and holes tighten each other hundreds of times stronger than in standard semiconductor laser systems. Moreover, this strong charge connection in fiber lasers makes excitons and trions very stable, especially at room temperatures. The fiber laser technology enables the researchers to discover the balance of the electrons, holes, excitons, and trions and monitor their conversion to reach optical gain at very low levels of density.
The laser beam power required to reach Mott transition — the process by which excitons form trions and conduct electricity in semiconductor materials to the point that they reach the Mott density — is essential for the future processes. The absence pf new abilities provided by the laser system lead to the necessity to use a small power station to operate one supercomputer.
The combination of optical gain with low levels of laser beam power input leads to the development of future amplifiers and fiber lasers, which need a small amount of driving power. Although the researches result in new fiber laser technology that researchers can use to design low-power 2D laser systems, the team doubt if this is the same mechanism that led to the production of their 2017 nanolasers.
The improvements in such fiber optic systems continue. It is planned to examine how the fiber laser technology of optical gain works at various temperatures, and how to apply it to create nanolasers for a promising purpose. Finally, the team claims that their next step is considered to be a development of laser systems that can operate specifically employing the new mechanisms of optical gain.
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