Light Source and Method for Producing Light

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This patent describes a novel light source and corresponding method for generating light using an optical resonator containing a specialized optical medium. Unlike conventional lasers that require population inversion (a higher population of excited states), this invention uses a two-level system with a metastable lower state, where the resonator is designed to support only a single longitudinal mode and several transversal modes within the medium's fluorescence bandwidth. By controlling the resonator's optical length and photon number, the device can efficiently convert input light (even incoherent light like sunlight) into spatially and spectrally concentrated, potentially coherent light with high energy and wavelength conversion efficiency, without many of the limitations of traditional lasers.

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• Converting sunlight or other broadband light sources into tailored light suitable for boosting the efficiency of photovoltaic cells (solar panels).
• Production of coherent or quasi-coherent light for optical or scientific applications without requiring population inversion, enabling new kinds of light sources for research, imaging, or communications.
• Use in UV or X-ray lithography by enabling coherent or high-intensity light generation at short wavelengths where traditional lasers are not efficient or feasible.
• Development of highly efficient lighting systems, including solid-state or electrically-pumped light sources like OLEDs and polymer-based devices.
• Integration with sensors or optical communication devices that require specific light profiles or coherence properties.
• Advanced light collection and concentration systems that work with diffuse or non-directional light sources, improving solar energy harvesting regardless of sun position.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Can convert incoherent broadband light into coherent or spectrally narrow light with high efficiency.
• Does not require population inversion, making it possible to work across a wider spectral range, including UV and X-ray regions where lasers struggle.
• Improved energy and wavelength conversion efficiency over traditional lasers.
• Operable with various optical media (dyes, semiconductors, gases), allowing wide application flexibility.
• Compatible with electrical, optical, or even ambient light excitation ('passive' operation), enabling low-cost and versatile devices.
• Can spatially and spectrally concentrate light, improving the efficiency of devices like solar cells without the need for mechanical tracking systems.
• Enables new device architectures, such as embedding optical media in polymers or integrating with solar cells for compact designs.

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a light source, comprising an optical resonator (1) and an optical medium (2) arranged therein that can be excited so as to emit light, wherein the optical medium (2) comprises at least one two-level system, in particular a two-level system that is not population-inverted, having an at least metastable lower state, and the optical length of the resonator (1) comprising at least one curved mirror (1) is selected such that the free spectral bandwidth of the resonator is equal to or greater than the absorption bandwidth and/or fluorescence bandwidth of the optical medium (2) and only a single longitudinal mode and a plurality of transversal modes of the resonator (1) are arranged within the fluorescence bandwidth. The invention further relates to a method for producing light by means of an optical resonator (1) and an optical medium (2) arranged therein that can be excited so as to emit light, wherein at least one two-level system, in particular a two-level system that is not population-inverted, having an at least metastable lower state is selected as the optical medium (2), and the optical length of the resonator (1) comprising at least one curved mirror (1) is set in such a way that the free spectral bandwidth of the resonator is greater than the absorption bandwidth and/or fluorescence bandwidth of the optical medium (2) and only a single longitudinal mode (3) and a plurality of transversal modes (4) of the resonator (1) within the fluorescence bandwidth of the optical medium (2) are produced by means of excitation.