Experimental setup of the random anti-laser: a waveguide contains a disordered medium consisting of a set of randomly placed Teflon cylinders, at which incoming microwave signals are scattered in a complex manner. In the top plate of the waveguide (moved aside for illustrative purposes) a central antenna is installed, which absorbs the microwaves.
The concept of the laser can be reversed: the perfect light source then becomes the perfect light absorber. Scientists at TU Wien have found a way to build such an anti-laser, based on random scattering. The laser is the perfect light source: As long as it is provided with energy, it generates light of a specific, well-defined colour. However, it is also possible to create the opposite ' an object that perfectly absorbs light of a particular colour and dissipates the energy almost completely. At TU Wien (Vienna), a method has now been developed to make use of this effect, even in very complicated systems in which light waves are randomly scattered in all directions. The method was developed in Vienna with the help of computer simulations, and confirmed by experiments in cooperation with the University of Nice. This opens up new possibilities for all technical disciplines that have to do with wave phenomena.
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