| NIST’s prototype photonic chip could provide the basis for future spectroscopic sensors, integrated within compact metrology equipment while offering quantum precision. The tiny device, which currently features an external laser source, probes atoms to generate infrared light at a precise wavelength. The NIST chip packs a tiny cloud of atoms and structures for guiding light waves into less than a single square centimeter. The square window on top of the chip in this image is where atoms are contained in a vapor cell, and is surrounded by black epoxy holding a fiber-optic array. The penny is a scale reference. Photo: Matthew Hummon/NIST. |
