Ultrashort-pulsed lasers as the underpinning technology for ultrafast technology
Submitting Institutions
University of St Andrews,
University of EdinburghUnit of Assessment
PhysicsSummary Impact Type
TechnologicalResearch Subject Area(s)
Physical Sciences: Optical Physics, Other Physical Sciences
Technology: Communications Technologies
Summary of the impact
Impact: Economic gains / altered business practices.
Research on ultrafast lasers has led to the development of new products
and services and has been pivotal in the development of a whole field of
new technology.
Significance: The research underpins the product development of a
range of world leading companies including Femtolasers, Newport
Spectra-Physics and Menlo Systems.
Reach: The companies that use the technology represent all of the
leading players in the solid-state femtosecond laser field, a marketplace
worth more than $250M annually.
Beneficiaries: The impact presents economic gains to the companies
involved and underlies many applications in e.g. biology and medicine,
providing significant benefits to the public at large.
Attribution: The research was performed by Professor Sibbett's
group.
Underpinning research
A large number of longitudinal resonator modes can reach threshold in
broadband lasers and a choice can be made to impose an operational status
that `persuades' all of these lasing modes to oscillate together in phase
— in a so-called phase-locked or mode-locked operation.
The Ultrafast Lasers Group have been long-established pioneers in this
field and have produced a range of laser sources that offer significant
advantages over competing approaches. Within this period of assessment,
work within PHYESTA has helped to improve the operational parameters of
the most commonly deployed femtosecond Ti-sapphire lasers to achieve pulse
durations as short as 5 femtoseconds and average powers of watts and peak
powers up to megawatts[R1].
The Ti:Sapphire crystal gain medium, whilst remaining perhaps the key
technology for solid-state ultrashort pulse lasers, suffers some major
disadvantages, including the requirement for high-power pump lasers in
the difficult-to-access green part of the spectrum reducing efficiency and
driving up costs. To this end, work was undertaken by the Ultrafast Lasers
Group in the mid-to late 1990s and 2000s on a range of other gain
materials that demonstrated the potential for direct diode pumped
femtosecond lasers in the near-infrared part of the spectrum (800 nm —
1100 nm) [R2-R4] opening up the potential for new products and application
from sources that have the potential for much lower cost and higher
operating efficiencies. A major drive in this period was also the
development of advanced laser cavity designs that permitted the
development of very compact ultrafast lasers that still offer attractive
output performance levels [R3]. The research has continued and in the
2010s research and development relating to new spectral areas, including
the important 2 f06dm region, offer exciting potential for an enlarged
array of applications in surgery, communications and metrology [R5].
In addition to the development of new laser sources, the group also
demonstrated in 1997 a range of original and innovative measurement
techniques providing a step change in the simplicity and practicality of
the measurement of ultrafast pulses through 2-photon based autocorrelation
schemes [R6].
Personnel
Key PHYESTA researchers involved were Professor Wilson Sibbett (present
as staff, and then emeritus, throughout period of assessment), Dr Derryck
Reid (PDRA / EPSRC Advanced Fellow 1994 - 2000), Dr Alexander Lagatsky
(PDRA 2001 - 2013) and Dr Tom Brown (PDRA 1999 - 2005, Lecturer / Senior
Lecturer / Reader 2005 - present).
References to the research
The quality of the underpinning research is best indicated by R4, R5 and
R6. [Number of citations]
| [R1] |
T Beddard, D T Reid, J Garduno-Mejia, N Jamasbi,M
Mohebi and W Sibbett (1999) ‘High-average
power, 1-MW peak-power self-mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator’
, Optics Letters, 24, p.
163, (1999) DOI: 10.1364/OL.24.000163, URL: tinyurl.com/kzdgfk2, [20]
|
| [R2] |
D Burns, M P Critten and W Sibbett (1996) ‘Low threshold
diode-pumped femtosecond Cr3+LiSrAlF6 laser’, Optics Letters, 21, p. 477, (1996) DOI:
10.1364/OL.21.000477, URL: tinyurl.com/l8cbqsu,
[11]
|
| [R3] |
J M Hopkins, G J Valentine, B Agate, A J Kemp, U Keller and W
Sibbett ‘Highly compact and
efficient femtosecond Cr:LiSAF lasers’, IEEE J Quantum
Electronics, 38, p. 360, (2002) DOI: 10.1109/3.992549, URL:
tinyurl.com/mr2sxwp, [28]
|
| [R4] |
A A Lagatsky, C T A Brown and W Sibbett ‘Highly
efficient and low threshold diode-pumped Kerr-lens mode-locked
Yb:KYW laser’, Optics Express, 12,
p. 3928, (2004) DOI: 10.1364/OPEX.12.003928, URL:
tinyurl.com/kqq4uty, [48]
|
| [R5] |
A.A. Lagatsky, X. Han, M.D. Serrano, C. Cascales, C. Zaldo, S.
Calvez, M.D. Dawson, J.A. Gupta, C.T.A. Brown and W. Sibbett, ‘Femtosecond (191 fs) NaY(WO4)2
Tm,Ho-codoped laser at 2060 nm’, Optics Letters,
35, p. 3027, (2010) DOI: 10.1364/OL.35.003027, URL:
tinyurl.com/l3qnuhg, [37]
|
| [R6] |
D.T. Reid, M. Padgett, C. McGowan, W.E. Sleat and W. Sibbett
(1997) ‘Light-emitting diodes as measurement devices for femtosecond
laser pulses’, Optics Letters, 22,
p. 233, (1997) DOI: 10.1364/OL.22.000233, URL: tinyurl.com/ln2mapy,
[102]
|
Details of the impact
Ultrafast technology is an applications sector that is based in part on
the laser sources developed by the Ultrafast Lasers Group (ULG) as
described in section 2. The use of this technology underlies a wide range
of applications that have emerged since the 1990s and have developed
rapidly throughout the period of assessment (2008 - 2013.) These range
from the development of ultraprecise measurements of frequency required
for internet communications to the latest generation of techniques for
corrective eye surgery. The importance of the work of the ULG is
highlighted by the CEO of Femtolasers who states "...the work of
Professor Sibbett and more recently Dr Brown and Professor Sibbett has
played a major role in leading the development and applications of
ultrafast laser technology..." [F1].
The development of practical technologies to achieve mode-locked laser
operation was the underpinning requirement for the global development of
ultrafast technology in the 1990s and its subsequent adaptation into a
widely adopted technology from the early 2000s to the present day. Work in
the field by the ULG was of major influence in defining product
technologies for major multinational companies in the field including
Coherent and Spectra Physics (now part of Newport) in the USA. This
adoption led directly to the development of a suite of commercial devices
(Coherent MIRA and Spectra Physics Tsunami) that continue to underpin the
commercial sector. The scale of the success of these technologies can be
estimated by the fact that "...there are many thousands of Titanium
Sapphire Kerr lens mode-locked lasers installed worldwide..." [F2] A
conservative estimate of $100k per system in 2013 shows that this market
alone is worth many $100s million. The more recent work described above
continues to have a major influence on the decision making processes of
these leading international companies as the Advanced R&D Manager for
Spectra-Physics states "...the work of your St Andrews research group
... has continued to be of interest and influence within the commercial
laser community." [F3]
In addition to product development by major commercial players, the
research highlighted above also has led to the development of laser
systems by the smaller specialist laser companies such as M Squared in the
UK, FemtoLasers, a multi-million € turnover SME in Austria [F1] and KML
Inc in the USA with new product launches occurring throughout 2008 - 2013.
Continuing through the period 2008 - 2013, new commercial laser systems,
amplifiers and applications such as multi-photon microscopes have begun
to further revolutionise fields as diverse as biology, medicine and
manufacturing technology. Indeed, the source technology has now reached
such a point of maturity that it is now routinely installed as OEM
components within products such as systems for eye surgery [S1].
The impact of the research can also be identified through its influence
on a range of applications that impinge on many areas of society. [text
removed for publication]. A major recent development has been the
deployment of ultrafast lasers within medical treatments, particularly for
surgery on the eye. For example, the IntraLase system now offers
commercial refractive surgery to more than five million of patients
worldwide and the latest generation of treatment for cataracts is based on
the use of ultrafast laser systems related to those developed by Sibbett.
[S2]
The measurement and characterisation of ultrafast pulses remains an area
of key importance within this technology field. The ULG showed that a
highly simplified method based on non-linear absorption in low cost
semiconductor devices could be used to obtain basic pulse duration
information. This innovation was patent protected (US6195167 B1 - granted
2001) and subsequently licensed by Elliot Scientific to produce an award
winning commercial product, the Timewarp Autocorrelator. [S3]
A major impact of the work of the Sibbett group has been one of
influence. A study in 2010 of emerging ultrahigh intensity laser
facilities shows that there was more than $4.5 Bn of activities under
development between then and 2015 and more than half of these are based on
technology directly developed within PHYESTA [S4]. Notably, many major
companies and individuals have highlighted the importance of the work in
the 1 f06dm and 2 f06dm spectral regions from 2000 onwards and in
diode-pumped femtosecond lasers to product development [F1, F3-5]. [text
removed for publication].
A 2008 survey showed that the ultrafast laser market was worth
approximately $260M annually with a predicted year-on-year growth of up to
30% [S4]. Many of the developments in this field have been influenced and
underpinned by the work of the Sibbett Group that retains a place of major
world influence within the field both through its historic and on-going
research. [F1-5]
Sources to corroborate the impact