Laying Groundwork for Advanced Laser Technology
A Korean-German joint research team has succeeded in generating the world's first high-output (100 GW), high-quality single-cycle (2.6 femtoseconds) visible laser pulse. The technology is expected to be used for the generation of an isolated attosecond pulse and research on high resolutions in ultrafast dynamics and ionization dynamics under a strong magnetic field.
The achievement was the result of collaboration between a research team led by Kim Dong-eon, a professor at Max Planck POSTECH/Korea Research Initiative (MPK) in Korea, and a team led by Matiers Kling, a professor of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany. The technological breakthrough will contribute to the creation and promotion of new research paradigms, Kim said on Jan. 22.
Single-cycle visible laser pulses have drawn a lot of attention as an ideal driving laser in studies on ultrahigh-speed science for time high resolutions and the extreme states of materials and the generation of petahertz devices or harmonics for a long time. Recently, it was found that the characteristics of single-cycle lasers’ material interactions are different from those of conventional lasers, and that their unique properties exist.
The research was published in the Optics Letters, a leading journal on advanced lasers.
Meanwhile, around 70 researchers are working on world-class basic and fundamental technologies including ultrafast dynamics and advanced composite materials at MPK of POSTECH in Korea.