U-M researchers develop small device that bends light to generate new radiation

University of Michigan  October 25, 2018
Synchrotron radiation is usually generated at large-scale facilities. A team of researchers in the US (University of Michigan, Purdue University) developed a way to produce synchrotron radiation by printing a pattern of microscopic gold antennae on lithium tantalate metasurface. They use a laser that produces ultrashort pulses of light which last for one trillionth of a second. The array of antennae causes the light pulse to accelerate along a curved trajectory inside the crystal producing synchrotron radiation that contains many terahertz frequencies. They hope to refine their device so that the light pulse revolves continuously along a circular path, producing synchrotron radiation at a single terahertz frequency. Terahertz frequency is useful in security industry and biomedical sciences… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE