Could these crystals be the next leap forward in China’s laser technology?
- Researchers say they have developed a substance that is 13 times better in tests than widely used alternative
- Experiments could help solve a power source problem that has plagued commercial and military devices
Scientists in southeast China say they have synthesised a crystal with the potential to significantly improve the performance of lasers used in consumer and military equipment.
Crystals of caesium bismuth germanate (CBGO) can turn low-energy beams into high-energy emissions with unparalleled efficiency, according to Professor Mao Jianggao, team leader at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Fuzhou.
The team looked at several candidate crystals in their experiments. Compared with widely used potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals, the CBGO crystal was 13 times more efficient at turning infrared lasers into more energised green beams.
“This is a record performance,” Mao said on Tuesday. “This is why we think the crystal may have potential.”
Their findings were published in the German weekly scientific peer-reviewed journal Angewandte Chemie, or Applied Chemistry, last month.