Scientists working at the University of Navarra in Spain say they have developed a more efficient laser crystal.
The group of professors from the university's departments of chemistry, soil science, physics and applied mathematics worked in the preparation and characterization of "photonic crystals," which have optical properties with many uses.
The research, they said, will lead to the creation of more powerful and effective lasers.
The crystals are required to have a periodicity of an optical magnitude. That means the materials have a structure of energy bands for photons similar to that which metals possess for electrons.
The researchers say the crystals provide ideal characteristics for the development of instruments with important applications in such diverse areas as communications, optical electronics and medicine.
The research being performed at the University of Navarra was developed as a multidisciplinary effort, involving professors from various departments and was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Related stories:
NIH awards Emory and Georgia Tech $10 million for partnerships in cancer nanotechnology
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded scientists from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology two new collaborative research grants, totaling nearly $10 million, to establish a multidisciplinary research program in cancer
nanotechnology and to develop a new class of nanoparticles for molecular and cellular imaging. Working at the sub-atomic level, these scientists are seeking
data that will link molecular signatures, (underlying molecular features), to patients' clinical outcomes, so that cancers can be predicted, detected earlier and treated more effectively. Although the primary focus of the new programs will be prostate cancer, the research will have broad applications to many types of tumors, including breast and colorectal cancer and lymphoma.
Brightening the future for optical circuits
(PhysOrg.com) -- By working together to share costs and know-how, European researchers are shaking up the way research and development is carried out on optical chips.
Compound could help detect chemical, biological weapons
(PhysOrg.com) -- A light-transmitting compound that could one day be used in high-efficiency fiber optics and in sensors to detect biological and chemical weapons at long distance almost went undiscovered by scientists because its structure was too difficult to examine.
Photonic crystal biosensors detect protein-DNA interactions
Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a new class of disposable, microplate-based optical biosensors capable of detecting protein-DNA interactions. Based on the properties of photonic crystals, the biosensors are suitable for the rapid identification of inhibitors of protein-nucleic acid and protein-protein interactions.
New insights into how cells accessorize their proteins
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have gained new insight into how the cell's vast array of proteins would instantly be reduced to a confusion of lethally malfunctioning molecules without a system for proteins to "accessorize" in order to regulate their function.
Using 'slow light' to modulate single photon wavepackets
(PhysOrg.com) -- Single photons have been studied for a long time, Steve Harris tells PhysOrg.com. “But this is the first time that their wavepackets have been modulated.” Just as electrons may be described as either particles or waves, photons may also be described as particles or waves, and “in a similar manner to classical pulses of light their wavepackets may be modulated to encode additional information.” Harris immediately notes that over the last several years that several groups of scientists have used other techniques to generate shaped photonic wavepackets.
Nanojewels made easy
Butterfly wings, peacock feathers, opals and pearls are some of nature's jewels that use nanostructures to dazzle us with color. It's accomplished through the way light reaches our eyes after passing through the submicroscopic mazes within these materials.
Electron microscopy enters the picometer scale
Jülich scientists have succeeded in precisely measuring atomic spacings down to a few picometres using new methods in ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy. This makes it possible to find out decisive parameters determining the physical properties of materials directly on an atomic level in a microscope. Knut Urban from Forschungszentrum Jülich, a member of the Helmholtz Association, reports on this in the latest issue (25 July) of the scientific high-impact journal
Science.