Integrated Laser Delivers Nanojoule Pulses at 176 MHz, Exceeding Prior PIC Sources by 100x
Updated
Updated · Nature.com · Jun 4
Integrated Laser Delivers Nanojoule Pulses at 176 MHz, Exceeding Prior PIC Sources by 100x
3 articles · Updated · Nature.com · Jun 4
Summary
Erbium-ion-implanted silicon nitride photonic chips produced a mode-locked Mamyshev oscillator that generated a 176-MHz pulse train with nanojoule pulse energy, a level previously out of reach for integrated ultrafast lasers.
That energy boost came from combining erbium-doped SiN photonic integrated circuits with alternating spectral filtering and self-phase modulation, allowing self-starting operation without external seeding.
147-fs compressed pulses from the device showed high coherence and directly drove a 1.5-octave supercontinuum in a Si3N4 waveguide without any added amplification.
A compact terahertz time-domain spectrometer powered by the source reached 5 THz bandwidth and 90 dB dynamic range, enabling non-contact chemical analysis and inspection.
The result narrows the gap with bulkier fiber lasers and points to chip-scale systems for frequency metrology, portable spectroscopy and other nonlinear photonics applications.
This new chip-laser is 100 times more powerful. Are the days of traditional, room-sized lasers now numbered?
This breakthrough enables powerful new sensors. Which industry, from medicine to AI, will be transformed by it first?
A tabletop laser now fits on a match head. What’s the biggest hurdle to putting this power in our pockets?
The Nanojoule Leap: Chip-Scale Ultrafast Lasers Deliver 100x Pulse Energy Breakthrough (2026)
Overview
In June 2026, researchers achieved a major breakthrough by creating a chip-scale, integrated mode-locked laser that delivers nanojoule-level pulse energies at a high repetition rate of 176 MHz. This innovation, built on the combination of Mamyshev oscillator architecture and erbium-ion-implanted silicon nitride waveguides, enables efficient generation and manipulation of ultrashort light pulses—down to 147 femtoseconds—within a compact footprint. The result is a 'nanojoule leap,' offering about 100 times more pulse energy than previous photonic integrated circuit systems and, in some ways, even surpassing conventional fiber-based ultrafast lasers.