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CU Denver Engineer’s New Tool Makes Science Fiction Reality

A University of Colorado Denver engineer is about to provide scientists with a new tool that will enable them to make science fiction a reality, according to a study published in Advanced Quantum Technologies.

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Imagine a gamma-ray laser that safely targets cancer cells or helps probe the cosmos to test Stephen Hawking’s multiverse theory.

Aakash Sahai, PhD, assistant professor of electrical engineering, has achieved a quantum breakthrough with potential implications for physics, chemistry, and medicine.

One of the most influential publications in the areas of quantum physics, materials, and technologies, Advanced Quantum Technologies, acknowledged Sahai's work and included his article on the cover of its June edition.

It is very exciting because this technology will open up whole new fields of study and have a direct impact on the world. In the past, we have had technological breakthroughs that propelled us forward, such as the sub-atomic structure leading to lasers, computer chips, and LEDs. This innovation, which is also based on material science, is along the same lines.

Aakash Sahai, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver

How It Works

Sahai has discovered a method for producing powerful electromagnetic fields in a lab setting that was previously unattainable. Electromagnetic fields, generated by electrons vibrating and bouncing at extremely high rates, power everything from computer chips to particle colliders searching for dark matter. Until recently, generating fields strong enough for advanced research required large, expensive facilities.

For example, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland is one of the key tools researchers use to search for evidence of dark matter. The collider spans 16.7 miles to house the radiofrequency cavities and superconducting magnets needed to accelerate high-energy beams. Conducting trials at such a scale may be extremely costly, resource-intensive, and volatile.

Sahai invented a silicon-based, chip-like material that can withstand high-energy particle beams, control energy flow, and allow scientists to access electromagnetic fields generated by the oscillations, or vibrations, of the quantum electron gas, all in an area the size of a thumb. The electromagnetic fields are created as a result of fast movement.

With Sahai's approach, the material regulates the heat flow caused by the oscillation while keeping the sample intact and stable. This allows scientists to see activity like never before, and it opens the door to downsizing miles-long colliders onto a single chip.

Manipulating such high energy flow while preserving the underlying structure of the material is the breakthrough. This breakthrough in technology can make a real change in the world. It is about understanding how nature works and using that knowledge to make a positive impact on the world.

Kalyan Tirumalasetty, Graduate Student, University of Colorado Denver

The technology and approach were developed at CU Denver and tested at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a world-class facility run by Stanford University and financed by the United States DOE.

Applications of this Technology

CU Denver has already filed for and acquired provisional patents on the technology in the United States and elsewhere. While real-world, practical applications may be years away, the opportunity to better understand how the universe works and thereby enhance people's lives drives Sahai and Tirumalasetty to work long hours in the lab and at SLAC.

Sahai added, “Gamma ray lasers could become a reality. We could get imaging of tissue down to not just the nucleus of cells, but down to the nucleus of the underlying atoms. That means scientists and doctors would be able to see what is going on at the nuclear level, and that could accelerate our understanding of immense forces that dominate at such small scales while also leading to better medical treatments and cures. Eventually, we could develop gamma ray lasers to modify the nucleus and remove cancer cells at the nano level.”

The extreme plasmon approach might also be used to examine a variety of hypotheses about how the universe works, ranging from the notion of a multiverse to investigating the fundamental fabric of our cosmos. These possibilities fascinate Tirumalasetty, who had considered becoming a scientist.

Tirumalasetty stated, “To explore nature and how it works at its fundamental scale, that is very important to me. But engineers give scientists the tools to do more than understand. And that is that is exhilarating.”

The two will return to SLAC this summer to continue improving the silicon-chip material and laser process. Unlike in movies, creating revolutionary technologies might take decades. In fact, Sahai's initial study on antimatter accelerators was published in 2018, which laid the groundwork for this key moment.

It is going to take a while, but within my lifetime, it is very probable,” Sahai concluded.

Journal Reference:

‌Sahai, A. A.  (2025) Extreme Plasmons. Advanced Quantum Technologies. doi.org/10.1002/qute.202500037.

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