Semiconductor room-temperature maser.

Authors

Andreas Gottscholl, Maximilian Wagenhöfer, Valentin Baianov, Emilian Eisermann, Vladimir Dyakonov, Andreas Sperlich

Published in

Nature communications. Volume 17. Issue 1. Jul 25, 2026. Epub Jul 25, 2026.

Abstract

We report the first demonstration of a semiconductor maser based on silicon vacancies (V_Si) in 4H-silicon carbide (SiC). Using an active feedback loop, we enhance the resonator's quality factor, enabling continuous-wave maser operation even above room temperature. We analyzed the SiC maser as a high-performance preamplifier, with measured gain exceeding 10 dB at 110 K and simulations suggesting potential amplification beyond 30 dB. Leveraging the small zero-field splitting of V_Si, the device can also function as an optically pumped microwave photon absorber, reducing the resonator's mode temperature by 40 K relative to the environment. Additionally, the maser's ultranarrow linewidth supports highly sensitive magnetometry, achieving a nine-order-of-magnitude improvement in contrast-to-linewidth ratio over electrical and optical detection of magnetic resonance. This results in an estimated magnetic field sensitivity of 20 pT/√Hz at room-temperature based on the relative intensity noise of the excitation laser. These results underscore the potential of SiC to reshape room-temperature maser technologies, and lay the groundwork for future development of compact, electrically driven maser diodes.

PMID:
42498717
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Jul 2026.

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