{"id":307,"date":"2025-08-15T18:30:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T18:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/307\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T18:30:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T18:30:42","slug":"swedens-most-powerful-laser-delivers-record-short-light-pulses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/307\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden’s most powerful laser delivers record-short light pulses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sweden's<\/p>\n

The laser system is 11 meters long and generates extremely short laser pulses. Credit: Mattias Pettersson, Umea University<\/p>\n

For the first time, researchers at Ume\u00e5 University have demonstrated the full capabilities of their large-scale laser facility. In a study published<\/a> in Nature Photonics, the team reports generating a combination of ultrashort laser pulses, extreme peak power, and precisely controlled waveforms that make it possible to explore the fastest processes in nature.<\/p>\n

The custom-built laser system, called the Light Wave Synthesizer 100 (LWS100), spans 11 meters in length and 1.5 meters in width\u2014far larger than many commercial lasers which are comparable in size to a pencil or a book. Its size is necessary to generate and amplify ultrashort laser pulses<\/a> to extreme peak power.<\/p>\n

At its peak, it generates 100 terawatts\u2014equivalent to five times the average power consumption of the world\u2014although only for a few millionths of a billionth of a second. This makes the system the most powerful laser in Sweden and opens the doors to groundbreaking applications such as understanding ultrafast processes in biomolecules, developing light-driven electronics and improving solar panel efficiency.<\/p>\n

What sets the system apart is that the pulses are not only extremely short (4.3 femtoseconds) and powerful\u2014they also have a reproducible and controlled electric field waveform, identical from pulse to pulse. Achieving this level of control is particularly challenging in large-scale laser systems, but critical for many advanced applications. This can generate even shorter attosecond X-ray pulses that can be used to “film” the movement of electrons in real time.<\/p>\n

\"Sweden's<\/p>\n

Set-up of the LWS100 enhanced optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA). Credit: Nature Photonics (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41566-025-01720-2<\/p>\n

“We can now show that the system delivers exactly what we envisioned when it was built. This is a milestone for our research,” says Laszlo Veisz, Professor at Ume\u00e5 University.<\/p>\n

A wide range of experiments are planned using this laser system, taking advantage of its extreme temporal and spatial light concentration. By shaping and focusing ultrashort pulses<\/a>, attosecond electron bunches can be accelerated to ultra-relativistic energies in compact micro-accelerators, or next-generation X-ray sources can be created to advance attosecond science.<\/p>\n

The laser system was installed and inaugurated at the Department of Physics at Ume\u00e5 University in 2022. This newly published paper is the first scientific study to demonstrate its full performance.<\/p>\n

More information:<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLaszlo Veisz et al, Waveform-controlled field synthesis of sub-two-cycle pulses at the 100 TW peak power level, Nature Photonics (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41566-025-01720-2<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUmea University<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSweden’s most powerful laser delivers record-short light pulses (2025, August 15)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 15 August 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-08-sweden-powerful-laser-short-pulses.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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