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Masers made easy

Aharon Blank

Published Jan 1, 2012• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The technological potential of masers — the microwave equivalents of lasers — has been thwarted by their impractical operating conditions. A solid-state maser that works at room temperature may change that. See Letter p.353

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Perspective on room-temperature solid-state masers

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The first solid-state masers to operate at room-temperature and ambient air-pressure were recently demonstrated using optically pumped spin-triplet states as the gain medium. In this Perspective, we briefly review the previous state-of-the-art in cryogenic solid-state masers and then discuss the development of the room-temperature solid-state maser: from the organic pentacene pulsed maser to the diamond nitrogen-vacancy continuous-wave maser. We characterize the operation of these masers as coherent microwave sources and ultra-low noise amplifiers before outlining how they can be adapted to act as model systems in which to explore room-temperature cavity quantum electrodynamics. After discussing challenges facing current embodiments of the room-temperature solid-state maser, we explore how they might be addressed or by-passed altogether through the development of alternative materials and masing mechanisms. Finally, we speculate on how the advent of masers that can operate in ambient conditions might lead to novel applications in metrology and quantum technologies.

Applied Physics Letters•Oct 4, 2021•25 citations
The application of masers is limited by its demanding working conditions (high vacuum or low temperature). A room-temperature solid-state maser is highly desirable, but the lifetimes of emitters (electron spins) in solids at room temperature are usually too short (∼ns) for population inversion. Masing from pentacene spins in p-terphenyl crystals, which have a long spin lifetime (∼0.1 ms), has been demonstrated. This maser, however, operates only in the pulsed mode. Here we propose a room-temperature maser based on nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond, which features the longest known solid-state spin lifetime (∼5 ms) at room temperature, high optical pumping efficiency (∼10(6) s(-1)) and material stability. Our numerical simulation demonstrates that a maser with a coherence time of approximately minutes is feasible under readily accessible conditions (cavity Q-factor ∼5 × 10(4), diamond size ∼3 × 3 × 0.5 mm(3) and pump power <10 W). A room-temperature diamond maser may facilitate a broad range of microwave technologies.
The first solid-state masers to operate at room-temperature and ambient air-pressure were recently demonstrated using optically pumped spin-triplet states as the gain medium. In this Perspective, we briefly review the previous state-of-the-art in cryogenic solid-state masers and then discuss the development of the room-temperature solid-state maser: from the organic pentacene pulsed maser to the diamond nitrogen-vacancy continuous-wave maser. We characterize the operation of these masers as coherent microwave sources and ultra-low noise amplifiers before outlining how they can be adapted to act as model systems in which to explore room-temperature cavity quantum electrodynamics. After discussing challenges facing current embodiments of the room-temperature solid-state maser, we explore how they might be addressed or by-passed altogether through the development of alternative materials and masing mechanisms. Finally, we speculate on how the advent of masers that can operate in ambient conditions might lead to novel applications in metrology and quantum technologies.