Illuminating the Possible: The Next Step in Laser Technology

After decades of refinement, laser technology is poised to reshape the early twenty-first century just as microprocessor technology revolutionized the last quarter of this century. Scientists in the new field of "photonics" are harnessing the photon--the basic unit of light energy that makes up laser beams--to collect, process, store, and transmit information.
"The Oregon Center for Optics, here on the University of Oregon campus, is at the forefront of photonics research," says OCO director and UO physics professor Michael Raymer.
The center's internationally recognized group of nine faculty members and about thirty student researchers are inventing, developing, and refining new applications of the laser that could dramatically advance current technological capabilities.
One branch of Raymer's own research, for example, is investigating how low-energy laser light passes through body tissue. This work could lead to a harmless and more information-rich replacement for x-rays in some medical applications, such as mammograms.
"In optics and photonics, there can be a relatively short time between fundamental research and its application," Raymer says. "The laser was developed in the early 1960s, but it has already had a major impact on communications, aircraft technology, manufacturing, and precision instrumentation. Closer to home, every CD player and supermarket scanner contains a laser."

Smaller, Faster, Better

Into what new areas are the center's scientists shining their lasers now?
Experimental physicists Peter Sercel and Hailin Wang are developing techniques for fabricating super-small (nanoscale) devices such as semiconductor lasers one tenth the size of a human hair.
"As scientists push the bounds of semiconductor technology, making the devices ever smaller, there will soon come a time when current technology will be too bulky," says Sercel, who recently traveled to the White House to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. "We are laying the groundwork for that time. Potentially, the devices we're fabricating and studying could have applications in many areas, from microlasers to the next generation of microelectronics."
Another OCO professor, Thomas Mossberg, is developing a new kind of optical computer memory that far surpasses the capabilities of today's magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard drives). His experimental hardware handles vast amounts of digital information, storing it in a small crystal that can be accessed at lightning speeds. The hardware already holds a world's record for information density and access speed, storing the equivalent of 700 floppy disks of information in one square inch of memory material.

Bright Future

The rapid growth and bright future of photonics is reflected in job prospects for those seeking careers in the field. A recent employment report produced by the American Institute of Physics states, "Although less than one [physics] Ph.D. in twelve specializes in optics and lasers, this subfield accounted for almost one fourth of the potentially permanent positions outside of academe."
A high-tech start-up company, Templex, has recently formed in Eugene to turn Mossberg's basic research into products for market. Only a year old, Templex already employs four Ph.D. physicists and additional staff members.
Besides start-ups such as Templex, existing industries--working in collaboration with the OCO--may also accelerate the practical applications of the basic research conducted at the UO. "We are open to having industrial members in the center," Raymer says. "Industry-university collaborations can be highly productive and mutually beneficial. We can teach industrial optical researchers the most current knowledge and techniques, and they can teach us about the challenges of using the technology in practical applications."
The OCO grew out of the Centers of Excellence initiative passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1985 in support of scientific activities that promote economic development.
"The legislature had the foresight to recognize optical science and technology as a wave of the future," Raymer observes. "Since their support began, we have attracted a world-class group of researchers in an area that promises to be at the center of many important technological innovations."

Back to INQUIRY, Spring 1997