Sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation a regime in which the phonon plays the role of Stokes wave. Stokes wave refers to a non-linear and periodic surface wave on an inviscid fluid (ideal fluid assumed to have no viscosity) layer of constant mean depth. For this reason it should be also possible to controllably switch between phonon and phonon laser regimes. Compound optical microcavity systems provide beneficial spectral controls. These controls impact both phonon laser action and cooling and define some finely spaced optical levels whose transition energies are proportional to phonon energies. These level spacings are continuously tunable by a significant adjustment of optical coupling.
Sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation operates at about 440 GHz, while the Caltech device operates in the megahertz range. According to a member of the Nottingham group, the two approaches are complementary and it should be possible to use one device or the other to create coherent phonons at any frequency in the megahertz to terahertz range. A significant result rises from the operating frequency of these devices. The differences between the two devices suggest that SASERs could be made to operate over a wide range of frequencies. Work on the SASER continues at the University of Nottingham, the "Lashkarev Institute of Semiconductor Physics" at