chanelink logo
CHANELINK
English

Scientists use glass to create femtosecond lasers

604
2023-09-28 17:12:33
See translation

Image source: Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland

 

Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, September 27th (Reporter Zhang Jiaxin) Commercial femtosecond lasers are manufactured by placing optical components and their mounting bases on a substrate, which requires strict alignment of optical components. So, is it possible to manufacture femtosecond lasers entirely from glass? According to the latest issue of Optics magazine, scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland have successfully achieved this, with lasers no larger than credit cards and easier to align.

Researchers stated that due to the lower thermal expansion of glass compared to traditional substrates, it is a stable material. Therefore, they chose glass as the substrate and used commercial femtosecond lasers to etch special grooves on the glass to accurately place the basic components of the laser. Even in precision manufacturing at the micron level, the grooves and components themselves are not precise enough to achieve laser quality alignment. In other words, the reflector is not fully aligned, so at this stage, their glass device cannot be used as a laser.

So, researchers further designed etching to position a mirror in a groove with micro mechanical bending, which can locally twist the mirror when irradiated by femtosecond laser. By aligning the mirror in this way, they ultimately created a stable, small-scale femtosecond laser.

Despite its small size, the peak power of the laser is about 1 kilowatt, and the time to emit pulses is less than 200 femtoseconds, which is so short that light cannot pass through human hair.

This method of permanently aligning free space optical components through laser material interaction can be extended to various optical circuits, with extreme alignment resolutions as low as sub nanometer level.

 

Reprinted from：LDWORLD

Related Recommendations

  • French silicon optical company Scintil realizes the integration of III-VI DFB lasers and amplifiers with standard silicon optical technology

    Recently, French silicon photonics company Scintil Photonics announced an exciting collaboration, successfully integrating III-V-DFB lasers and amplifiers with standard silicon photonics technology in the production of Israeli semiconductor company Tower Semiconductor. This milestone collaboration marks a crucial step for Scintil in strengthening its supply chain, bringing new possibilities to com...

    2024-03-05
    See translation

  • Topological high-order harmonic spectroscopy in Communications Physics

    It is reported that researchers from the University of Salamanca in Spain have demonstrated a high-order harmonic spectroscopy scheme generated by the interaction between a structured driving beam and a crystal solid target. This work promotes the topological analysis of high-order harmonic fields as a spectroscopic tool to reveal nonlinearity in the coupling of light and target symmetry. The rele...

    2024-01-15
    See translation

  • Photonic hydrogel of high solid cellulose with reconfigurability

    Recently, Qing Guangyan, a researcher team from the Research Group on Bioseparation and Interface Molecular Mechanism (1824 Group) of Biotechnology Research Department of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, designed and prepared a highly solid cellulose photonic hydrogel with reconfigurability and mechanical discoloration. This preparation method opens up a new way t...

    02-17
    See translation

  • Yongxin Optics: Launch of the "Multimodal Nanoresolution Microscope" Project

    Recently, the launch and implementation plan demonstration meeting of the "Multimodal Nano Resolution Microscope" project led by Ningbo Yongxin Optics Co., Ltd. was successfully held in Ningbo. This is the fourth time Yongxin Optics has led a national key research and development plan project and received support, indicating that the company's ability to undertake national level technological rese...

    04-10
    See translation

  • E&R Engineering launches a mold cutting solution at Semicon SEA 2024

    Advanced laser and plasma solution provider E&R Engineering Corp. has confirmed that they will participate in the Semiconductor SEA 2024 event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With 30 years of focus in the semiconductor industry, E&R has developed a wide range of plasma and laser technologies. At Semicon SEA 2024, they will showcase their latest solutions, including:Plasma Cutting - Small M...

    2024-05-20
    See translation