Title: NIST Team Wins Gold Medal for Revolutionary Optical Fiber Laser Power Standard
A team of researchers led by Christopher Yung at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been awarded a prestigious gold medal for their groundbreaking work in establishing the first primary standard for measuring optical fiber-based laser power. The team, which includes John Lehman, Michelle Stephens, Nathan Tomlin, and Igor Vayshenker, developed an innovative approach that utilizes the world’s darkest material, a highly light-absorbing coating, in combination with NIST’s advanced superconducting transition-edge thermometer.
This new standard significantly reduces the traceability chain for fiber-based laser power measurements, resulting in a fourfold improvement in measurement uncertainty. The standard enables the calibration of hundreds of laser power meters annually, supporting various applications such as telecommunications, sensing, defense, and the development of future quantum networks. The team’s achievement represents a major advancement in the field of optical fiber laser power measurement and has the potential to revolutionize the way laser power is measured and controlled in numerous industries.
Keywords: standard, laser, power
