Scientists at Novosibirsk State University have created a cylindrical microresonator the size of a human hair. The development is needed for telecommunications and photonics, and in the future, it could help in early cancer diagnostics. Details were revealed by the NSU press service.
One of the developers, Natalia Makarova, explained that the scientists aimed to achieve laser generation in almost cylindrical resonators of a very small size. Essentially, such resonators are small segments of optical fiber doped with erbium rare-earth metal ions.
The main advantage of the development is its small size. The resonator can be placed in various chips and detectors needed to detect atoms and molecules in the environment.
Another important feature is its almost cylindrical shape. Usually, similar resonators are spherical, but a cylinder offers more possibilities: this geometry allows for changing the wavelengths of laser generation. This expands its application area.
In cylindrical microresonators, light travels in a spiral along the surface of the optical fiber wall. This principle is called the "whispering gallery effect." This makes the laser sensitive to temperature changes and the presence of gases.
The resulting lasers emit in approximately the same range as the internet operates. Therefore, NSU believes that the development can be used in telecommunications and satellite navigation.
The method has another advantage – a narrow laser spectrum. This helps detect not just clusters, but individual molecules.
According to Makarova, such a laser can not only find a single molecule but also observe its movement and rotation in the system.
The developers suggest that in the future, such a narrow laser could be used to detect single molecules of cancerous tumors. NSU does not rule out that the technology will allow for earlier detection of oncological diseases – at the stage when the very first molecules of cancer cells appear in the body, which other equipment cannot yet see.
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