To speed up the writing and readout of magnetic information from storage devices, researchers are exploring the use of ultrashort laser pulses that can switch magnetic domains in solid-state materials. Although this route shows promise, the large number of magnetic materials interacting with one another, in a so-called quantum many-body system, has made this approach difficult to study. Exposing materials to intense laser pulses makes it possible to induce metal-insulator transitions, to control magnetic order and to generate transient superconducting behavior. However, pinning down the...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESIndustrial Laser Generates Attosecond LightResearchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) have shown that industrial-grade lasers can be used to generate attosecond pulses. “One of the main challenges of attosecond science...Photonics Spectra November 2020 IssuePhotonic Chip Combines Many VCSELs into Single LaserResearchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Würzburg successfully forced an array of vertical-cavity lasers to act together as a single laser — a...Photonics Spectra December 2021 IssueLaser Irradiation Degrades Cellulose for Use in BiofuelA laser-based technique developed by a Japanese research team could make it easier to degrade the plant product cellulose, which is used to produce biofuel. The new technique is based on a type of...Photonics.com 7/27/2020Nonlinear Response in Diamond Defects Could Enable NanosensorsA nonlinear optical approach to temperature sensing, discovered by scientists at the University of Tsukuba and the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), could expedite...Photonics Spectra June 2022 IssuePRODUCTSFemtosecond LaserThe aeroPULSE FS10 femtosecond laser from NKT Photonics A/S allows users to tune pulses from 350 fs to 10 ps. The air-cooled device delivers 10 W of power at a maximum pulse energy of 20 μJ,...Photonics.com 4/25/2022Pulsed Light SourcesThe VPL, VPLED, and HPL series of pulsed diode lasers and LEDs from Edinburgh Instruments Ltd. are designed for time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The HPL diode lasers are designed...Photonics.com 10/20/2021kW Beam ShapersFocal-πShaper_1070_Q_HP beam shapers from AdlOptica GmbH are designed for kW lasers. Intended to control intensity distribution of a focused spot, the shapers are optimized for operation...Photonics.com 2/12/2021Multiple-Color Pulsed Diode LaserThe Prima computer-controlled laser module from PicoQuant is a standalone device for researchers. Able to emit red, green, and blue light, Prima generates laser light at 635, 510, and 450 nm...Photonics.com 11/12/2021PHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESLasers: Understanding the Basics: Although lasers range from quantum-dot to football-field size and utilize materials from free electrons to solids, the underlying operating principles are always the same. This article provides the basic information about how and why lasers work.Over 60 years have passed since the first demonstration of a laser in 1960. After the initial spark of interest, lasers were for a while categorized as “a solution waiting for a problem,”...Photonics HandbookDiode-Pumped Lasers: Performance, Reliability Enhance Applications: The latest technology advances take diode-pumped solid-state lasers into new realms of power and wavelength, enabling many new applications.Neodymium-doped crystals and glasses such as Nd:YAG (neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet) have long been used as laser gain materials. Optically pumped, they produce an output wavelength close to 1...Photonics HandbookLaser Measurement Systems: Best Practices: When purchasing a laser, learning how to apply, troubleshoot, and evaluate that device is very important.Given the pace at which technology advances, there always seems to be a learning curve. With the abundance of consumer electronics available, there typically is no right or wrong way to use these...Photonics HandbookBeam Diagnostics: Meeting the Need for High Quality: Whether the application is scientific, commercial, industrial or medical, beam diagnostics has become an integral tool for users and manufacturers of lasers and laser-based systems. There is an increasing need to achieve, monitor and maintain higher quality beam characteristics to meet the demands of more sophisticated laser designs and tighter laser process tolerances.For any discussion of laser beam diagnostics, it is first necessary to define some terms that characterize beam properties. Broad definitions can include measurements of laser energy or power,...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSCompact, Self-contained Pulsed Lasers Expand Capabilities in LIBS ApplicationsLIBS analysis is now being adopted as an attractive technique in a wide range of industrial applications: from sorting recycled metals to identifying future mining areas. In this white paper, we...Photonics.com 12/10/2021772B-MIR Laser Spectrum AnalyzerThe 772B-MIR Laser Spectrum Analyzer combines proven Michelson interferometer technology with fast Fourier transform analysis to characterize the spectral properties of CW and pulsed lasers that...Photonics.com 11/2/2021Space Qualified 2-Pin PackageSheaumann teamed with Tesat-Spacecom in 2015 to develop a space-qualified laser module which is now used in LEO and GEO satellites. This intensive three-year project required an enhancement of...Photonics.com 2/12/2021An Advanced Laser Technology - Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting LaserVIGO’s VCSEL device has been developed to successfully demonstrate the capability to meet the increasing demand of our customers for disruptive epi-wafer technology.Photonics.com 11/1/2021WEBINARSEuropean Photonics Manufacturing Services Funded by ECThis event is supported by the European initiatives presented and is moderated by EPIC, the European Photonics Industry Consortium. The European Commission is helping companies access the...Photonics.com 6/30/2021Avalanche Photodiodes – Design and ApplicationsThe high-gain properties in avalanche photodiodes (APDs) make these devices an ideal choice for low-light-level detection in optical communications, spectroscopy, range finding and many other...Photonics.com 9/29/2020Best Practices: How to Achieve the Most Accurate Laser Energy MeasurementsMeasuring a pulsed laser is complex. Besides power, you also need to worry about pulse energy, frequency, and pulse width (duration). If you need to measure laser pulse energies — perhaps to...Photonics.com 5/15/2018Freeform Optics for Imaging: Design MethodsPart 1 of the 2021 Freeform Optics Series The rise of freeform optics in imaging applications has led to optical systems with increased etendue, more compact volumes, and superior performance....Photonics.com 5/26/2021PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSpulsed-dye laser:A laser with a gain medium consisting of an organic dye, which is carbon-based. The dye is mixed with a solvent, allowing the molecules to diffuse evenly throughout the liquid. The dye medium is...EDU.photonics.com 3/5/2018Pulsed-dye laserA laser with a gain medium consisting of an organic dye, which is carbon-based. The dye is mixed with a solvent, allowing the molecules to diffuse evenly throughout the liquid. The dye medium is...EDU.photonics.com 3/5/2018repetitively pulsed laserA pulsed laser that emits a recurring pulsed output. Frequency of the pulses emitted is known as pulsed recurrence frequency (PRF). When the PRF or duty cycle is very high, repetitively pulsed lasers...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009free-space optics (FSO)A type of optical communications technology dealing with the use of lasers and other light sources to send telecommunication signals along a line of sight through the atmosphere. Also called...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIALight Matters Extra: Optics & Photonics Technology Program, STCC - 09.2017In this month’s Light Matters Extra, we take you to the Springfield Technical Community College campus and introduce you to Professor Nick Massa, who has been teaching Optics and Photonics there for...Photonics.com 9/28/2017Merging Industry and Education Through Photonics - LIGHT MATTERS 09.2017Tune into this month’s edition of Light Matters for the complete list of Photonics Media’s Industry Beacon award winners. We’ll also introduce you to an Industry Beacon in the Educator category, and...Photonics.com 9/28/2017Light Matters Extra: styropyro - 02.2018In this month's Light Matters Extra, we introduce you to Drake Anthony, aka styropyro. Drake, 25, has been building his own lasers since he was 12 years old. He's got quite the following on his...Photonics.com 2/21/2018Capasso Group's Optical Harmonic Combs Could Operate as THz SourceResearchers at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have discovered a new phenomenon of quantum cascade laser frequency combs, which would allow the devices to...Photonics.com 8/10/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESUltrafast Pulsed LasersNitrogen LasersNanosecond LasersEducational CoursesCOMPANIESEdinburgh Instruments Ltd.Founded in 1971, Edinburgh Instruments Ltd. is a global provider of sophisticated, state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation for optical spectroscopy. We design and manufacture a range of...Photonics Buyers' GuideFOCtek Photonics Inc.FOCtek provides customers with all types of custom manufactured lenses, Precision Optical Components, Polarizing Optics, Prisms, Filters, Coatings, Optical Systems, Crystals, Nonlinear Crystals,...Photonics Buyers' GuideOhara Corporation, Western OfficeOhara manufactures precision optical glasses: strip/slab, cut/molded blanks, pressings, high homogeneity blanks, fine gobs, polished ball lenses, near-UV transmitting i-Line glass, ceramic...Photonics Buyers' GuideOZ Optics LimitedEstablished in 1985, OZ Optics is a leading worldwide supplier of fiber optic components, test equipment and sensors. OZ Optics manufactures its products in three locations, Ottawa (Canada),...Photonics Buyers' Guide