The year of the laser

View through the OMEGA laser's 20-cm disk amplifiers. At 10 meters tall and 100 meters long, the OMEGA in the University's Laboratory for Laser Energetics is the world糖心传媒檚 largest university-based laser and makes Rochester uniquely poised to be a leader in the relatively new field of high energy density physics. (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Rochester breakthrough in laser science earns Nobel Prize

One of the biggest stories of the year was the selection of Donna Strickland 糖心传媒�89 (PhD) and Gerard Mourou for the for their work at the to devise a better way to apply lasers in research, medicine, and everyday life.

two archival photos of G茅rard Mourou and Donna Strickland — G茅rard Mourou, left, photographed in Rochester in 1987, and Donna Strickland 糖心传媒�89 (PhD), in her lab in Rochester in 1985.
(糖心传媒 photos)

In addition to their Nobel noteworthiness, Rochester researchers continue to develop new ways to use lasers in 2018. Because frankly, we糖心传媒檙e big on lasers.

Laser bursts generate electricity faster than any other method

Ignacio Franco, assistant professor of chemistry and physics, predicted that laser pulses could generate ultrafast electrical currents. In theory. Now he believes he can explain exactly how and why actual experiments to create these currents have succeeded.

illustration of a laser pulse on glass-like beads — Generating electrical currents along tiny, nanoscale, electrical circuits.
(糖心传媒 illustration / Michael Osadciw)

Device creates negative mass 糖心传媒� and a novel way to generate lasers

Most objects react in predictable ways when force is applied to them糖心传媒攗nless they have 糖心传媒渘egative mass.糖心传媒� Then they react exactly opposite from what you would expect.

Nick Vamivakas, an associate professor of quantum optics and quantum physics, and other researchers in his lab聽 have succeeded in creating particles with negative mass in an atomically thin semiconductor, by causing it to interact with confined light in an optical microcavity. This alone is 糖心传媒渋nteresting and exciting from a physics perspective,糖心传媒� says Vamivakas. 糖心传媒淏ut it also turns out the device we糖心传媒檝e created presents a way to generate laser light with an incrementally small amount of power.糖心传媒�

illustration of a device showing two mirrors and an optical microcavity generating a beam of laser light — An optical microcavity can 糖心传媒済enerate laser light with an incrementally small amount of power.糖心传媒�
(糖心传媒 illustration / Michael Osadciw)

Rochester joins new nationwide high-intensity laser network

Rochester糖心传媒檚 Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), the largest university-based laser facility in the world, is partnering with eight other high-intensity laser facilities to form a new national research network called LaserNetUS, which will聽provide US scientists increased access to high-intensity, ultrafast lasers like the OMEGA EP at the LLE.

The main amplifiers at the Omega EP laser at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics — The main amplifiers at the OMEGA EP laser at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
(糖心传媒 photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Measuring each point of a beam of light

If you want to get the greatest benefit from a beam of light糖心传媒攚hether to detect a distant planet or to remedy an aberration in the human eye糖心传媒攜ou need to be able to measure it. Now professor of optics Chunlei Guo and a team of Rochester research team have devised a much simpler way to measure beams of light糖心传媒攅ven powerful, superfast pulsed laser beams that require very complicated devices to characterize their properties.

It糖心传媒檚 a 糖心传媒渞evolutionary step forward,糖心传媒� says Guo, and could render traditional instruments for measuring light beams obsolete.

In the lab where it happened: Nobel science in pictures

Donna Strickland 糖心传媒�89 (PhD) and G茅rard Mourou received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for work to develop chirped pulse amplification (CPA), research they undertook in the 1980s at the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). Today, members of the LLE use chirped pulse amplification in their own research to develop the next generation high-power lasers and to better understand the fundamentals of high-energy-density physics.

The future of CPA糖心传媒攁nd the subject of PhD student Sara Bucht糖心传媒檚 current research糖心传媒攊nvolves using plasma instead of the prism-like gratings that Strickland first developed to spread the laser pulse into its wavelengths of color. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 another step change in terms of laser power that could lead to a possible Nobel Prize for Sara糖心传媒攑otentially the next graduate student project to be recognized by the Nobel committee,糖心传媒� says Dustin Froula, senior scientist and assistant professor of physics. 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檝e taken the technology Donna and G茅rard developed to its limits, and we糖心传媒檙e now looking at what the next step in physics would be.糖心传媒�

three researchers wearing laser goggles and clean suits stand over an array of optical devices — Members of the LLE, from left, Dustin Froula, senior scientist and assistant professor of physics; his PhD student Sara Bucht; and Jake Bromage, senior scientist and associate professor of optics.
(糖心传媒 photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Donna Strickland 糖心传媒�89 (PhD), a self-described 糖心传媒渓aser jock,糖心传媒� receives the Nobel Prize, along with her advisor, G茅rard Mourou, for work they did at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

Chirped-pulse amplification: 5 applications for a Nobel invention
Did you know that every time you pick up your smartphone, you are holding in your hand a product made possible by a Nobel Prize-winning technology developed at the University of Rochester?

womans face wearing laser goggles and reflected in the glass of a rectangular prism

2018: The year in pictures
University photographer, J. Adam Fenster picks some of his favorite photos and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what makes each special.

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