New "disposable laser" developed
Researchers at the École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Étienne reportedly want to be able to produce lasers cheaply. This even goes so far that the laser media, once produced cheaply, can simply be replaced and disposed of after use. To create the "disposable lasers", the researchers simply print out the laser chips using a special ink in an inkjet printer.
"The fact that laser chips can be produced so easily and cheaply is probably the most significant aspect of our research results," the science portal "EurekAlert!" quotes the project leader Sébastien Sanaur. "You can print them where you want, when you want, using piezoelectric inkjet printers, and not waste expensive raw materials," Sanaur points out. This also requires no stencils and can be done at normal room temperatures, he adds. "Printing on flexible materials is also possible," he adds.
No waste of material
As Sanaur and his colleagues explain in the Journal of Applied Physics, current approaches to making organic lasers all have one problem in common: they are too expensive and too much material is wasted in the production process. In the typical current manufacturing process, known as "spin coating," a special dye solution is applied to a spinning carrier medium. "Due to the centrifugal forces involved, much of the solution is thrown off the medium. Only two percent of it can really be placed in a meaningful way," explains Sanaur.
The new method is quite different: Here, a special ink containing dye is simply applied in small squares to a carrier material. "Inkjet printers can spray small jets of liquid very precisely onto the surface without wasting anything," describes the project manager. Depending on the composition of the ink, lasers with different wavelengths can be produced. According to the researchers, it has already been possible to produce disposable lasers with yellow and red light. "But lasers with higher-energy blue and green light could also soon be possible with this process," Sanaur says.
Focus on organic lasers
It is important to understand that the team around the French researcher produces organic lasers. These are less widespread today than their inorganic counterparts, which are installed in large numbers in laser pointers, DVD players, optical mice and the like. Their advantages lie in the higher-energy photonic energy transfer, simpler production and the fact that they enable a wide range of different wavelengths.
