Europe sees BRIGHTER future with laser diode technology
Laser diodes are electrically pumped semiconductor lasers that are widely used in industrial applications such as laser printers, bar-code readers and scanners. In recent years, improvements have been made to the power performance, compactness and robustness of these lasers which have helped increase the mass production potential of this technology. However, the use of these lasers in many domains such as healthcare, communications and entertainment is often limited by the difficulty in reaching satisfactory performances in power and beam quality simultaneously. Enter a group of European scientists and engineers who are cooperating to develop the next generation in laser diode technology through the EU-funded project WWW.BRIGHTER.EU (World Wide Welfare: High-Brightness Semiconductor Lasers for Generic Use). The project received EUR 9.7 million in funding from the EU. Building on the successful outcomes of the WWW.BRIGHT.EU project, which ended in 2006, the project partners will develop the high brightness aspect of the laser diode technology. High brightness refers to the capability of a high-power laser diode to provide high beam quality. Specifically, the project will seek to develop low-cost, high-brightness light sources for an extended range of colours (i.e. wavelengths), as well as to couple more light power into smaller diameter optical fibres. According to the consortium, these developments will enable the replacement of laser sources that are costly and hard to handle. They will also fuel the growth of new applications. The project will then demonstrate the technology in applications, which have until now been unavailable on the market, such as laser sources for medical imagery for cancer diagnosis and intelligent therapy, optical amplifiers for telecommunication networks, and compact sources for projection display. Laser technology is big business. According to the Photonics21 European Technology Platform, the photonics world market in 2005 amounted to more than EUR 225 billion and the total photonics world market is expected to triple within the next 10 years. By combining their expertise in laser diode technology with original optical technologies, the BRIGHTER project partners hope to tap into this multi-billion euro market by making lasers smaller, brighter, more efficient and cheaper. 'There are huge markets for laser diode technology,' explained Dr Michel Krakowski of Alcatel-Thales III-V Lab, the project's coordinator. 'There are a lot of applications that currently are not possible to address without high-powered diode lasers, either because of cost, colour or portability,' he added. 'The goal of this project is to develop new lasers with increased power and brightness. It's about how tightly we can focus the beam.' 'Within the project, there is a very close collaboration between the modelling groups and the partners who fabricate the wide variety of high-brightness laser diodes needed for future applications,' said Dr Slawomir Sujecki of the University of Nottingham, who is responsible for the laser design and simulation activities within WWW.BRIGHTER.EU. 'This collaboration is driven by the well-founded belief that predictive laser diode modelling and design software is crucial for understanding the limitations of current laser diode technology and for the development of new structures with superior brightness.' Not only will the project develop new technology, but it forms an integral part of the European Research Area. According to Professor Eric Larkins of the University of Nottingham, who is also part of the consortium, the project is helping scientists by intensifying cooperation between industry and academia. The end result is more opportunities for career development, he said. 'We are also developing new tutorials for training in cutting-edge technologies. These are also available through the project website to students and researchers outside the consortium,' Professor Larkins explained. The WWW.BRIGHTER.EU consortium is comprised of 23 research teams from 11 European countries. Key actors hail from industry, academia and research laboratories.