Broken Pattern Improves Laser

UrbanaThe photonic crystal pattern here never repeats.

It gives these defense- and aerospace-grade lasers tuning ability the standard design can’t match.

Photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers usually rely on a repeating pattern, like a diffraction grating, for beam quality.

The findings, published in Applied Physics Letters, describe a lab device, not a product.

Sources: Phys.org