Researchers from the Niels Bohr institute in Denmark have semi-conductors cooled with the help of lasers. The new cooling method would be in highly sensitive sensors, and in quantumcomputers can be applied.
The researchers made use of lasers for their semiconductors to cool. For atoms was that technique already used, but that was gas. The staff of the Niels Bohr institute have now also solids with lasers, cooled, by the use of quantumeffecten and physical effects at the nanoscale. The physicists developed a 160 nanometers thick halfgeleidermembraan that under the influence of laser light vibrates.
The fotonisch kristalmembraan was of gallium arsenide created and is illuminated by a laser. A mirror reflects part of the light to the membrane. In this way, an optical resonator is created which makes the membrane heats up and expands. The expansion produces an oscillation in which the cooling of the membrane. The cooling reached almost absolute zero; the membrane has reached a temperature of only minus 269 degrees Celsius.
The technique would be able to deploy to quantumcomputers to cool. The nanomembranen would also can be deployed to sensors for electric current, or mechanical sensors to cooling; the use of expensive cryogenic techniques would not be necessary. The surface of the membranes, which the researchers managed to produce is one square millimeter.
