Stanford scientists develop fingernail-sized chip to separate mixed light beams
The photonic device could improve the performance of telescopes, microscopes and cameras by separating individual coherence modes.
Researchers at Stanford University, along with collaborators in Austria and Italy, have developed a tiny photonic chip that separates jumbled light into clean, individual beams, according to the Times of India.
The device, which is roughly the size of a fingernail, uses a network of tiny optical components called interferometers and algorithms to examine the statistical properties of incoming light.
Unlike electronic chips that use electrons, this photonic chip guides photons through small channels on a silicon surface to separate a mixture into distinct coherence modes.
During experiments, the team directed two infrared lasers into the chip to create a partially coherent mixture and successfully separated them into independent channels.
The researchers later introduced a third laser and found the device could still sort the resulting mixture, suggesting it can work with more than two light sources.
The technology could potentially help microscopes distinguish between overlapping fluorescent particles and assist telescopes in interpreting light from distant objects.
The team is currently exploring a collaboration with NASA to investigate if the technology can help scientists study light in astronomy.