Physicists have learned to control a light beam with record speed and accuracy

An international team of researchers led by physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Institute has developed a technology for forminghigh speed optical beam. The wireless device focuses the beam in a given direction and changes the light intensity orders of magnitude faster than commercial liquid crystal or micromirror technologies. The development is suitable for improving the quality of lidars and high-precision brain scanning.

In their work, scientists have optimizedspatial light modulator (SLM). This is a device that manipulates light by controlling the properties of its radiation. Like an overhead projector or computer screen, the PMS converts the passing beam of light, focusing it in one direction or refracting it in many places to form an image.

Device diagram. Image: Christopher L. Panuski et al., Nature Photonics

Physicists used micro-LED displayfor SLM control. The LED pixels match the photonic crystals on the silicon chip, so turning on one LED tunes a separate microcavity. When the laser hits this activated microcavity, it reacts differently to the laser depending on the light from the LED. 

The developers note that the useLEDs for device control means that the array is not only programmable and reconfigurable, but also completely wireless. In addition, the proposed technology is suitable for scale-up and mass production, they add.

In a series of experiments, researchersdemonstrated light control with a modernized PMS. The device demonstrated precise control of light in space and time, while the optical field with a total "spatio-temporal bandwidth" was 10 times greater than that of analogues.

The developers say that installing a new systemlight control will allow lidars, which are used, for example, in unmanned vehicles, to display the scene a million times faster. In addition, they can speed up brain scanners, which use light to "see" through tissue. And changing the scan speed will result in a higher resolution image that will not be affected by dynamic noise, the researchers conclude.

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