Femtosecond laser pulse amplification system

• Subject Area: Production Technology
• Term: Funded in 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 172823306

The use of ultrafast laser pulses is an attractive option for the high quality micromachining of many materials due to their ability for minimal damage, precise processing, and nonlinear optical capabilities. Ultrafast material ablation, direct 3D waveguide fabrication, optical coherent tomography (OTC), surface micro- and nanostructuring are among the most well-known application of femtosecond lasers. The proposed laser will be a state of the art system capable to deliver laser pulses with the repetition rate spanning from single pulse to 10 kHz. Due to the adjustable repetition rate, the system will be efficient for applications requiring different laser pulse energies from tens μJ to a few mJ. The Chair is planning to use the femtosecond laser for the recently funded DFG priority program SCHM 2115/4-1 to develop technology for sub 100 nm scale surface structuring, to continue the research in the field of laser generated shock waves and their application for micro shaping, and to study application of high intensity non diffractive Bessel beams for micromachining. The use of the proposed laser system will not be limited by the above mentioned programs but it is planned to be extensively utilized in the future. While additional primary research directions are envisioned in the filed of material processing (nonlinear enhancement of material ablation, transparent media structuring, etc.), fs bio photonics is planned to be an active research area (jointly with Clinical Photonics Lab).

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Instrumentation Group: 5700 Festkörper-Laser
• Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Michael Schmidt