Laser gets warmer

A collaboration between Leeds University and Harvard University has turned the heat up on terahertz technology, bringing a handheld terahertz device a step closer to reality.

The Leeds team, led by Prof Edmund Linfield and Giles Davies from the Faculty of Engineering, has recorded the highest operating temperature for a terahertz quantum cascade laser - a device that scientists believe may unlock the potential of the terahertz frequency range.

'The potential uses for terahertz technology are huge, but at the moment they are limited to niche applications in, for example, the pharmaceutical industry and astronomy, as the current systems on the market are expensive and physically quite large. The availability of cheap, compact systems would open up a wide range of opportunities in fields including industrial process monitoring, atmospheric science, and medicine,' said Prof Linfield.

Key to exploiting terahertz technology is the production of handheld devices, and one specific type of laser - the quantum cascade laser - will allow the creation of a terahertz device that is small and portable. The problem is, at the moment this type of laser will only function at temperatures of minus 100°C.