Lasers, an acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation,” are devices that emit highly focused beams of light. First developed in 1960, lasers function on the principle of stimulated emission, where electrons in atoms are excited to a higher energy level and then drop back to a lower level, releasing photons (light particles) in the process. These photons stimulate other electrons to emit more photons of the same phase, direction, and wavelength, producing a coherent, monochromatic beam of light. Lasers vary in type based on the medium used to amplify the light, including gas (like CO2 or helium-neon), solid-state (like ruby or neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet), dye, and semiconductor materials.
Researchers have developed methods to explore and utilize superconductivity in non-equilibrium states, such as those induced by laser pulses, at temperatures much higher than traditional…
Physicists at the University of Konstanz have discovered a way to imprint a previously unseen geometrical form of chirality onto electrons using laser light, creating…
A team has created a laser technique to break down tough plastics into valuable components, offering a new, sustainable approach to tackling global plastic pollution….
An innovative 3D printing method simplifies the manufacturing of multi-material products. Researchers at the University of Missouri have developed a method to create complex devices…
In a single leap from tabletop to the microscale, engineers at Stanford University have produced the world’s first practical titanium-sapphire laser on a chip. Researchers…
EPFL researchers have developed a compact, high-performance chip-scale erbium-doped laser, broadening potential applications in technology and medicine. Lasers have transformed the world since the 1960s…
Six research teams from five global laboratories significantly shortened the materials discovery timeline from years to just a few months using self-driving labs. Organic solid-state…
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers have developed the first topological quantum simulator device in the strong light-matter interaction regime that operates at room temperature, revolutionizing quantum…
Researchers have created a new technique for precise control of cavity length in GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. Gallium nitride (GaN) vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are…
Lasers created at the University of Rochester pave the way for new on-chip frequency comb generators. Optical frequency combs, devices essential for measuring light, have…
The advance could enable the development of compact 3D photonic integrated devices capable of processing large amounts of data and more. Researchers have developed a…
In a study recently published in Nature, researchers from the Max Born Institute in Berlin, Germany, and the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching…
Researchers have produced, stored, and retrieved quantum information for the first time, a critical step in quantum networking. The ability to share quantum information is…
Fraunhofer IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters. The expansion of fiber optics is progressing worldwide, which not only increases the…
Researchers developed a 60-milliwatt solid-state DUV laser at 193 nm using LBO crystals, setting new benchmarks in efficiency values. In the realm of science and…
A new study by JILA introduces a straightforward method for generating elliptically polarized light, essential for advanced material research, challenging previous theoretical limitations. In a…
A promising option for creating a productive and sustainable energy source on Earth is the fusion of hydrogen nuclei. The problem? Extremely high pressures and…
Stanford researchers have unveiled a new type of frequency comb, a high-precision measurement device, that is innovatively small, ultra-energy efficient, and exceptionally accurate. With continued…