Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025
12:19
Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source
Published on: April 4, 2017
8.5K
Sensitivity and spectral control of network lasers
Dhruv Saxena1, Alexis Arnaudon2,3, Oscar Cipolato1
1The Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Nature Communications
|October 31, 2022
Summary
Researchers demonstrate precise control over random laser networks by manipulating pump light. This breakthrough enables programming laser light spectra for advanced photonic applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Complex Systems
- Nonlinear Optics
Background:
- Random lasing in complex networks utilizes multiple scattering for efficient lasing.
- Controlled network lasers offer potential for fast-switching, multifunctional light sources with tunable spectra.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sensitivity of network laser spectra to spatial pump profiles.
- To demonstrate experimental and theoretical control over lasing spectra in complex networks.
Main Methods:
- Solving nonlinear equations using the steady-state ab-initio laser theory (SALT) approximation over a graph.
- Conducting experiments with polymer networks using spatially shaped pump patterns.
Main Results:
- Observed high sensitivity of network laser spectra to pump profile shape, with some modes increasing by 280% intensity.
- Achieved selective lasing of approximately 90% of the strongest intensity modes, effectively programming the laser spectrum.
- Demonstrated spectral control via non-uniform pump patterns in polymer networks.
Conclusions:
- The complexity of network modes is key to efficient spectral control in random lasers.
- This high sensitivity opens avenues for developing on-chip photonic devices for communication, sensing, and computation.
