Using air to deflect lasers
Using a novel method, beams of laser light can be deflected using air alone. An invisible grating made only of air is not only immune to damage from the laser light, but it also preserves the original quality of the beam, reports an interdisciplinary.....»»
Photonic integrated erbium doped amplifiers reach commercial performance
Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are devices that can provide gain to the optical signal power in optical fibers. They are often used in long-distance communication fiber optic cables and fiber-based lasers. Invented in the 1980s, EDFAs have pro.....»»
Ultrafast lasers used to probe next-generation solar cells
Researchers have tracked the first fractions of a second after light strikes solar cells, providing insights into how they produce electricity......»»
Uncovering a novel way to bring the energy that powers the sun and stars to Earth
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have uncovered critical new details about fusion facilities that use lasers to compress the fuel that produces fusion energy. The new data could help lead.....»»
Using mirrors, lasers and lenses to bend light into a vortex ring
A team of researchers from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and the University of Dayton has developed a way to bend light into a vortex ring using mirrors, lasers and lenses. In their study, published in the journal Nature Photo.....»»
How Ants Inspired a New Way to Measure Snow With Space Lasers
Photons wander through snow like ants through a nest. That inspired a clever new NASA technique for measuring the fluffy stuff from orbit......»»
Diamond mirrors for high-powered lasers
Just about every car, train and plane that's been built since 1970 has been manufactured using high-power lasers that shoot a continuous beam of light. These lasers are strong enough to cut steel, precise enough to perform surgery, and powerful enoug.....»»
Two Military Satellites Just Communicated With Each Other Using Space Lasers
Two satellites recently exchanged more than 200 gigabits of data over a distance of about 60 miles (100 kilometers) using laser communication in space. Gizmodo reports: Satellites generally don't communicate directly with each other. Instead, they us.....»»
Generating ultra-violet lasers with near-infrared light through "domino upconversion" of nanoparticles
Strong and coherent ultraviolet light emission devices have enormous medical and industrial application potential, but generating ultraviolet light emission in an effective way has been challenging. Recently, a collaborative research team co-led by r.....»»
Scientists invent topological-cavity surface-emitting laser
Semiconductor lasers are the most widely used lasers due to their compact size, high efficiency, low cost and wide spectra. But they suffer low output power and low beam quality—two specifications difficult to improve simultaneously. For example, a.....»»
Sony brings laser power, native 4K to every 2022 projector
Sony has added lasers to its full range of projectors while bringing the price of native 4K resolution to a new level of affordability......»»
Atomic terahertz-vibrations solve the enigma of ultrashort soliton molecules
Stable packets of light waves—called optical solitons—are emitted in ultrashort-pulse lasers as a chain of light flashes. These solitons often combine into pairs with very short temporal separation. Introducing atomic vibrations in the terahertz.....»»
Fabricating complex hierarchical biomimetic patterns with lasers
A new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances reviews fabricating complex hierarchical biomimetic patterns with the use of novel spatiotemporally tailored interfering laser beams......»»
Satellites" lasers reveal changes in Earth"s water movement
Understanding climate change and its effects on humans, animals, and natural spaces requires studying Earth as a whole, interconnected system. Water movement on Earth, in particular, is a process that affects everything from global climate to the sma.....»»
New research study: "Sky is not the limit" for solar geoengineering
There are practical limits to the height at which aerosols may be deployed in the atmosphere to deflect incoming sunlight and countervail global warming. Very high-altitude injections might be more effective, but such climate intervention comes with.....»»
Ukraine invasion stops half the world"s neon production, possibly worsening the chip crisis
Around half of the world's supply of neon—needed for the lasers used in chip manufacturing—comes from two companies in Ukraine. Reuters reports that both have ceased production since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Market research from Tec.....»»
High-power laser being constructed for a new experimental facility
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's decades of leadership in developing high-energy lasers is being tapped to provide a key component of a major upgrade to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)......»»
Using pump lasers to create plasma lenses that focus at very high intensity levels
A team of researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley and Princeton University has developed plasma-based techniques to build a lens for laser beams with petawatt-scale power. In their paper publi.....»»
Scientists use 196 lasers to recreate the conditions inside gigantic galaxy clusters
Galaxies rarely live alone. Instead, dozens to thousands are drawn together by gravity, forming vast clusters that are the largest objects in the universe......»»
Russia’s Ukraine invasion could trigger a second microchip crisis
Ukraine supplies 70 percent of the world's output of neon, a critical gas that runs lasers needed to manufacture microchips......»»
New lightweight super material could battle bullets, deflect space debris
University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have created a nanofiber material that outperforms its widely used counterparts—including steel plates and Kevlar fabric—in protecting against high-speed projectile impacts......»»