A paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates how a laser that can emit microwaves wirelessly, modulate them and receive external radio frequency signals could lead to new types of hybrid electronic-photonic devices to pave the way for ‘ultra-high-speed’ wifi.
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School
of Engineering and Applied Sciences devised a method to
extract and transmit wireless signals from laser frequency combs,
emitting multiple, evenly spaced frequencies simultaneously.
The researchers used
the semiconductor laser to wireless transmit a recording of Dean
Martin’s “Volare”, marking the first time a laser has
been used as a radio frequency transmitter.
To be
useful for Wi-Fi applications, useful information needs to be
inserted into the microwave signals and extracted from the device.