Scientists at the Delft University of Technology have developed new microchip technology by combining two Nobel Prize-winning techniques for the first time. It is A new breakthrough combines two Nobel Prize-winning techniques.
This microchip can measure objects with extreme precision, for example underwater or for medical imaging. Because the technology uses noise instead of light, it is useful for measuring high-level situations and negative things. The application could lead to new methods for monitoring global climate and human health. This work is currently published in Nature Communications.
The technology is simple and low-cost
The microchip consists mainly of a thin ceramic sheet that is shaped like a trampoline. This trampoline is decorated with holes to improve its interaction with lasers and has a thickness approximately 1000 times smaller than the thickness of a hair. As a former PhD candidate in Richard Norte’s lab, Matthijs de Jong studied small trampolines to figure out what would happen if they pointed a single laser beam at them. The trampoline began to shake violently. By shooting laser light reflected from the vibrating surface, the team saw vibration-like combos that they had never seen before. They found that the trampoline’s signature shape acts as a predictor of balance.
This new technology can be used to measure internal conditions using sound waves. What makes it unique is that it does not require the right tools, so it is easy to create. “You put a laser, nothing more. There is no need for complex feedback loops or using it to listen to certain parameters so that our technology works well. This makes it a simple, low-cost technology that is very easy to crack and chip,” says Norte. “Once that happens, we can put these explosive sensors anywhere, because they’re so small.”
Group composition
This new technology is based on two independent Nobel Prize-winning techniques called optical traps and frequency combs. Norte: “What’s interesting is that these two concepts are often associated with fire, but these aspects are not mutually exclusive. We have combined them in a unique way to create a microchip technology that is easy to use based on wavelengths. Ease of use can have important implications for how we perceive the world around us.
Harmonics
When the researchers pointed a laser beam at a small trampoline, they found that the energy of the laser applied to it caused a vibration that resonated with the skin of the trampoline. “These forces are called optical traps because they can trap light in one place. This method won the Nobel Prize in 2018 and it allows us to manipulate even small particles with great precision,” as Norte explains. “You can compare the harmonics of a trampoline to the notes on a violin. The notes or frequencies produced by the violin depend on where you place your fingers on the strings. If you touch the string only lightly and play it with the bow, you can create harmonics; a series of notes with high frequencies. In our case, the laser works as both a soft arm and an arc to make the vibration match the trampoline skin.
Combines two exchange sections
Norte explains: “Optical combs are used frequently in laboratories all over the world for precise lengths and to measure distances. “They are so important for the general measurement that their invention won the Nobel Prize in 2005. We have made a kind of repeated sound, which has sound on the skin instead of light. High-frequency microphones can for example perform positional measurements on irregular objects, whose vibrations can propagate more than light waves. This technology can be used for example for underwater measurements to monitor Earth’s climate, for medical imaging and for applications in quantum technology.
Source: Delft University of Technology.
