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.
A team of researchers has developed a novel method for using cholesteric liquid crystals in optical microcavities. The platform created by the researchers enables the formation and dynamic tuning of photonic crystals with ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 1, 2025
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The Mamyshev oscillator (MO) is a type of fiber laser capable of producing high-energy laser pulses at a tunable repetition rate. It is a mode-locked laser which uses light traveling within a closed-loop cavity to produce ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 26, 2025
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Shooting lasers at foes is the stuff of science fiction, but now, a few farmers are fighting one of their greatest nemeses with a new technology—laser weeders.
Biotechnology
Jun 25, 2025
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Laser technology is used in many areas, where precise measurements are required and in communication. This means that they are important for everything from self-driving cars to the fiber optic internet and for detecting ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 24, 2025
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Scientists at NPL recently published findings on laser frequency stabilization, demonstrating an unprecedented level of performance using an optical reference cavity. This advancement features a beyond state-of-the-art optical ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 18, 2025
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Lasers have widespread applications as a light source in a variety of fields, including manufacturing, medicine, high-speed communications, electronics, and scientific research.
Optics & Photonics
Jun 17, 2025
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A research team led by Prof. Zhang Tianshu at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a compact all-solid-state continuous-wave (CW) single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) laser with ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 11, 2025
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Once only a part of science fiction, lasers are now everyday objects used in research, health care and even just for fun. Previously available only in low-energy light, lasers are now available in wavelengths from microwaves ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 11, 2025
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Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have made a breakthrough in laser technology by using machine learning (ML) to help stabilize a high-power laser.
Optics & Photonics
Jun 10, 2025
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The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology of Japan, in collaboration with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony), has developed the world's first practical surface-emitting laser that employs ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 9, 2025
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