Nanophotonic Device Cuts Laser Noise By Up To 60 Decibels

Until now, stabilising a laser meant choosing between speed and simplicity. Existing techniques relied on either fast but limited electronics, or complex optical systems with narrow operating ranges. This new device, however, achieves over 60dB of noise suppression across a broad bandwidth entirely passively, decoupling input fluctuations from the output signal. Geun Ho Ahn and colleagues at Stanford University have created a new, all-optical method for passively suppressing fluctuations across a bandwidth exceeding 10 gigahertz. The device uses second-harmonic generation within nanophotonic lithium niobate ... [5812 chars]