Phys.org August 18, 2018
The instabilities in the laser are caused by optical filaments, light structures that move randomly and change with time, causing chaos. An international team of researchers (USA – Yale University, UK, Singapore) designed a D-shaped cavity for the laser to induce quantum chaos in the light bouncing around. By creating quantum (wave) chaos in the cavity the laser itself remained steady. The quantum chaos acts on a smaller scale than the wavelength of the light, creating the optical ‘hills’ that help to dispel the optical ‘tornadoes’. They gained insight into the processes and cavity shapes likely to create this kind of quantum chaos from theories and experiments in nanophotonics and nanoplasmonics. The research could bring the nanoscience and laser communities together… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
The D-shaped cavity producing quantum chaos within the cavity, and a more stable laser resulting. Credit: Bittner et al.