Scientists have developed a new type of laser that can generate a lot of energy in a short period of time, which has potential applications in ophthalmology and heart surgery or fine materials engineering. Professor Martin De Steck, director of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Sciences at the University of Sydney, said: The characteristic of this laser is that when the pulse duration is reduced to less than one trillionth of a second, the energy can also be "instantly "At its peak, this makes it an ideal candidate for processing materials that require short and powerful pulses. One application may be corneal surgery, which relies on gently removing substances from the eye, which requires strong and short light pulses that will not heat and damage the surface. The research results are published in the journal Nature Photonics. Scientists achieved this remarkable result by returning to a simple laser technology commonly found in telecommunications, metrology, and spectroscopy. These lasers use an effect called "solitary" waves, which are light waves that maintain their shape over long distances. Soliton was first discovered in the early 19th century, but it was not found in light, but in the waves of the British Industrial Canal. Lead author Dr. Antoine Runge from the School of Physics said: The fact that soliton waves in light maintain their shape means that they are excellent in a wide range of applications including telecommunications and spectroscopy. However, although the lasers that produce these solitons are easy to manufacture, they will not bring much impact. To generate high-energy light pulses used in manufacturing, a completely different physical system is required. Dr. Andrea Blanco-Redondo, the co-author of the study and the head of silicon photonics at Nokia Bell Labs in the United States, said: The soliton laser is the simplest, most cost-effective, and most powerful way to achieve these short pulses. However, so far, traditional soliton lasers have not been able to provide enough energy, and new research may make soliton lasers useful in biomedical applications. This research builds on the earlier research established by the team of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Sciences at the University of Sydney, which published the discovery of pure fourth-order soliton in 2016. New laws in laser physics In an ordinary soliton laser, the energy of light is inversely proportional to its pulse width. It is proved by the equation E=1/τ that if the pulse time of light is halved, twice the energy will be obtained. Using the fourth soliton, the energy of the light is inversely proportional to the third power of the pulse duration, that is, E=1/τ3. This means that if the pulse time is halved, the energy it delivers during this time will be multiplied by a factor of 8. In the research, the most important thing is the proof of a new law in laser physics. The research has proved that E=1/τ3, which will change the way lasers are applied in the future. The proof of establishing this new law will enable the research team to make more powerful soliton lasers. In this study, pulses as short as one trillionth of a second were produced, but the research plan can obtain shorter pulses. The next goal of the research is to generate femtosecond pulses, which would mean ultrashort laser pulses with peak powers of hundreds of kilowatts. This type of laser can open up a new way for us to apply laser when we need high peak energy but the substrate is not damaged.
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