Technical researchers have demonstrated for the first time that laser emission can be produced by the interaction of light and water waves. This “water wave laser” may one day be used on tiny sensors that combine light, sound and water waves, or as a microfluidic “lab on a chip” for studying cell biology and testing the therapeutic effects of new drugs. Part of the device.
Now, the water wave laser pointer provides a “playground” for researchers to study the interaction between light and fluid, and the scale of this site is smaller than the width of a human hair. Research papers on this research have been published in “Natural Photon “Magazine. This research was carried out by the students of the Israel Institute of Technology under the guidance of the professor of the Optical Center of the School of Mechanical Engineering. This research will be the first time that these two fields intersect each other, which was previously thought to be unrelated, namely: nonlinear optics and water waves.
When the electrons in the atom absorb the energy of the external energy source and are excited, a typical laser is created, causing them to radiate in the form of laser light. The professor and his colleagues have now demonstrated for the first time that laser radiation can also be generated in a water wave oscillating liquid device.
The possibility of generating laser pointers through light interaction with water waves has not been confirmed, mainly due to the low frequency (about 1000 oscillations per second) of water waves on the liquid surface and the high frequency of light wave oscillations (1014 oscillations per second). The difference. This frequency difference reduces the efficiency of energy transfer between light and water waves, and this energy conversion is required when generating laser emission.
To compensate for this inefficiency, the researchers created a device in which an optical fiber transmits light into a tiny droplet of mixed octane and water. Light waves and water waves pass through each other multiple times (about one million times) in a small droplet, and the energy generated therein causes the water of the droplet to produce green laser pointer emission. The interaction between the light in the optical fiber and the tiny vibrations on the surface of the droplet can be regarded as an echo. Researchers have noticed that the interaction between the sound waves and the surface they pass through can produce a single squeal multiple times. . To increase this echo effect in their device, the researchers used a highly transparent, flowing liquid to enhance the interaction between light and droplets.
In addition, a drop of water is one million times softer than the material used in current laser pointer technology. Once pressure is applied by light, it will deform the droplet, which will increase the effect by a million times compared to a typical optical mechanical device. It can provide greater control over the excitation of the laser and its emission energy. Said the scientist.