University of Twente Achieves 100x Brighter UV Light on Chip
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Researchers at the University of Twente and Harvard University have achieved milliwatt-level ultraviolet (UV) light generation directly on a photonic chip, a significant advance beyond previous trace-level demonstrations.
The team accomplished this by converting two red photons into a single UV photon, a process enabled by a nearly two-centimetre long waveguide constructed from thin-film lithium niobate. This material has recently gained attention for its unique properties, allowing for precise manipulation of light at the nanoscale, requiring fabrication accurate to fifty nanometres across the entire chip. “Every application needs a specific colour of light,” says Kees Franken, a researcher involved in the study, “And at short wavelengths like UV, the quality of integrated light sources has simply not been good enough.” This breakthrough promises to shrink and improve technologies ranging from quantum computers to optical atomic clocks. Millwatt-Level UV Light Generation via Red Photon Conversion This demonstration marks the first instance of producing a useful amount of UV light, several milliwatts, approximately one hundred times greater than prior attempts, integrated onto a single chip. This opens doors for practical applications beyond mere trace detection. Central to this innovation is the use of thin-film lithium niobate, a material gaining prominence for its unique properties, fabricated into a nearly two-centimetre long waveguide that precisely channels light. Achieving this required fabrication accuracy; each of the approximately 10,000 electrodes along the waveguide is individually tailored to within fifty nanometres across the chip’s length. Kees Franken described the electrode placement, saying, “In our design, they sit right on it, but it gives us far more control, and the conversion from red to UV works much more efficiently.” The implications extend to scaling quantum computers and creating compact, practical optical atomic clocks capable of detecting minute gravitational differences, potentially for use in satellites. Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Waveguide Fabrication & Control The pursuit of integrated photonics has increasingly focused on lithium niobate as a promising material, and recent advances demonstrate a growing capacity for precise waveguide fabrication and light control at the chip scale. This is not simply about miniaturization, but about achieving the necessary control to manipulate light at the nanoscale, reversing the material’s crystal structure periodically, up to a thousand times per millimetre, using uniquely tailored electrodes. The resulting milliwatt-level UV light represents a substantial improvement over previous attempts, delivering roughly a hundred times more output.
The team’s approach differs from earlier work by positioning electrodes directly on the waveguide itself, a design choice that demanded a highly refined fabrication process. The underlying knowledge is now housed within UT spin-off Sabratha, which intends to scale up these photonic chips for applications in telecom and wireless communication; Franken stated that “If you want to scale systems like that, you need on-chip light sources,” emphasizing the potential for compact and practical quantum computers and optical atomic clocks. Every application needs a specific colour of light. Kees Franken, one of the authors of the study On-Chip UV Sources for Quantum Computing & Atomic Clocks The team bypassed conventional methods by employing a frequency conversion process, effectively combining two red photons to create a single UV photon, a technique previously yielding minimal output. This new approach, detailed in Nature Communications, achieves a roughly hundredfold increase in UV light power compared to prior attempts, opening doors for practical applications. Achieving precise control over this waveguide required an intricate fabrication process, with approximately 10,000 uniquely tailored electrodes positioned directly on the structure to a precision of fifty nanometres. Every application needs a specific colour of light. Kees Franken, one of the authors of the study Source: https://www.utwente.nl/en/news/2026/4/897469/a-hundred-times-brighter-uv-light-on-a-photonic-chip Tags: Ivy Delaney We've seen the rise of AI over the last few short years with the rise of the LLM and companies such as Open AI with its ChatGPT service. Ivy has been working with Neural Networks, Machine Learning and AI since the mid nineties and talk about the latest exciting developments in the field. Latest Posts by Ivy Delaney: Geometric Gates Cut Error Scaling To Fourth Power April 21, 2026 Self-Configuring Networks Learn Supermodes Using O(l N) Elements April 21, 2026 ATLAS Recreates Cosmic Ray Impacts in LHC For First Time April 21, 2026