Tunable Raman laser shines light on new medical applications13 August 2013 The University of Strathclyde has developed a high-performance Raman laser that can produce light beams with more power and a wider range of colours than current Raman lasers. These capabilities could open the way for new medical treatments and other specialist applications. Professor Martin Dawson, who initiated and oversaw the project at the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Photonics, said: “Our new lasers can generate light ranging from the lower end of the ultra-violet part of the electromagnetic spectrum, right through the visible part, up to the middle of the infra-red region. That means they can plug many of the existing gaps in lasers’ capabilities.” The silicon and other materials conventionally used in Raman lasers to change the colour of light are limited by the power of the laser and the range of colours they can produce, due to the materials’ physical properties. For instance, their relatively limited ability to conduct heat restricts the amount of laser output that can be generated, while their particular optical properties limit their ability to generate certain useful colours of light. By contrast, diamond has unrivalled thermal conductivity which, combined with its unique strength, rigidity and optical properties, make it ideal for use in lasers. Diamond’s optical properties enable diamond lasers to produce a range of colours that are hard to generate by conventional means. The Strathclyde team has achieved two major world firsts:
Dr Alan Kemp of the University of Strathclyde, who was Principal Investigator on the project, said, “Exploiting single-crystal diamonds directly in lasers opens up a world of possibilities. A key benefit is that you don’t need a big crystal to generate the power you require, so you can make lasers much smaller. Conventional Raman lasers have to incorporate a crystal 3-6 centimetres long. But our new lasers can produce the same amount of power with a diamond crystal just 2-6 millimetres long. That means lasers could be deployed in confined spaces where they currently simply can’t go — such as in aeronautical applications and medicine where high-power lasers of particular colours are required but space is at a premium.” Dr Jennifer Hastie led the project to demonstrate the first tunable diamond Raman lasers, achieved by incorporating the Raman crystals into semiconductor disk lasers, a novel type of tunable laser extensively developed at the Institute of Photonics: “Raman lasers work by firing a pump light beam through a crystal, thus creating heat, and as that heat is generated the laser beam is converted to a different colour. If the initial colour of the pump light is tunable, for example that provided by a semiconductor disk laser, we can achieve tuning of the Raman laser colour.” The team has worked closely with UK-based firm Element Six, a world leader in artificial diamond fabrication. As well as being potentially cheaper than natural diamonds, artificial diamonds are perfect for use in lasers because they can be engineered to provide the precise optical properties that are required, something that is difficult in natural diamond. Professor Dawson said, “We’ve shown that diamond Raman lasers have the potential to emerge as an important and distinctive technology. The development of innovative laser technology is an incredibly competitive field and EPSRC support has enabled us to achieve genuinely world-leading advances that have enormous potential. We’re now aiming to build on our successes to date, with a view to helping a whole new generation of lasers become available for deployment perhaps within 5-10 years.” Also see MTB Europe news: Raman laser highlights tumour cells in brain tissue during surgery
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