Laser systems, as physical systems, comprise an optical gain medium, an energy pump source, and an optical resonator configured to produce coherent, monochromatic, and highly directional electromagnetic radiation via stimulated emission. The gain medium (solid-state, gas, liquid, or semiconductor) is excited by optical, electrical, or chemical pumping, creating a population inversion between quantized energy levels. The resonator, typically a pair of mirrors or integrated waveguide structures, provides optical feedback and mode selection, defining spatial and spectral properties. System performance is characterized by thresholds, efficiency, beam quality (M²), temporal regime (CW or pulsed), and stability against thermal, mechanical, and nonlinear optical effects.
University of Florida researchers are exploring how lasers could help astronauts build structures on the moon using materials already available there, including lunar soil transformed into glass. The work, led by Victoria ...
Space Exploration
Jun 4, 2026
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13
Ultrafast lasers emit pulses lasting only a few hundred femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second). These flashes of light power applications from precision micromachining to eye surgery to optical frequency combs, the Nobel ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 3, 2026
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68
Laser systems operating in the 2-micrometer wavelength range open diverse opportunities in medical technology, agriculture, and plastics processing. In the Eurostars project DECOMP, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) has developed ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 1, 2026
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70
Spectroscopy has many applications, ranging from fundamental tests of quantum electrodynamics and investigations of molecular structure to environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostics and industrial monitoring. A highly ...
Optics & Photonics
May 26, 2026
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24
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have developed a light-driven technique that quickly amasses thousands of bacteria into a single spot, boosting detection speed and sensitivity. Their approach paves the way for earlier ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 24, 2026
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37
A sheet of twisted carbon nanotubes has revealed a hidden talent scientists suspected for decades but had never managed to measure. Researchers at Rice University have created large, highly ordered films of chiral carbon ...
Nanophysics
May 20, 2026
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66
In the HiPEQ project, a consortium of industry and research partners has developed new laser-based approaches to enable miniaturized, robust beam sources for quantum technology. Among others, the consortium also used lasers ...
Optics & Photonics
May 19, 2026
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21
Chinese scientists have developed a programmable quantum computing prototype called Jiuzhang 4.0 that has set a new world record for optical quantum information technology, according to a study published May 13 in the journal ...
Optics & Photonics
May 18, 2026
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66
Near-infrared light is invisible to humans. And yet, under the right conditions, the human eye can perceive it. Researchers from Poland's International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) have now shown that the ...
Optics & Photonics
May 14, 2026
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36
Simulating the nonlinear optical physics that underlies ultrafast laser systems is computationally demanding—a practical bottleneck in settings that require rapid feedback. A study by researchers at Stanford University, University ...
Optics & Photonics
May 12, 2026
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