Laser pulses

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Background: Researchers from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have developed a laser architecture that can synthesize on-demand, high-power laser beams with arbitrary 4D distribution by coherently combining beamlines with individually controlled spectral phase and amplitude, timing, intensity, and polarization vector. The design of this novel laser architecture is motivated by the unique capability that spatial light modulators (SLM) posses to vary spatio-temporal properties of light pulses. However, SLMs have severe power limitations beyond the single digit Watt-level power and cannot offer full 4D programmability. This technology, named Universal Light Modulator (ULM), can readily and efficiently manipulate ordinary light in multiple degrees of freedom to generate coherent pulses that exhibit any desired beam distribution in space-time, including complex beam distributions such as cylindrical vector and orbital angular momenta beams. The technology can also sustain average- and peak-power levels several orders of magnitude higher than SLM, from CW to femtosecond light sources. The ubiquity of light sources in research and industry makes ULMs an excellent solution that can be used either as an accessory to an existing light source or be integrated into a new generation of light sources with on-demand spatio-temporal properties. This technology can impact a wide variety of photonics applications, ranging from optical trapping, microscopy and medical devices, security, manufacturing, and optical communications.   Stage of Research: A prototype exhibiting variable transverse polarization distribution, transverse intensity distribution, time and phase distribution, and carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stability simultaneously is currently under development. First experimental results are expected to be made public in less than a year’s timeframe.   Applications: Architecture to generate laser beams with arbitrary and programmable features (spatio-temporal spectral, phase, timing and intensity, and polarizing distribution) with end user applications such as: biotechnology - optical tweezers/trapping, microscopy medical devices nano- and microfabrication and lithography optical communications – mode division multiplexing   Advantages: Versatile: Beam can be modulated in all degrees of freedom simultaneously with a greater range of parameters than SLM, including nonlinear conversion and active CEP stabilization Non-conventional beam properties including wavelength, wave-front, pulse-front, phase, transverse intensity and polarization distribution High power - 3 orders of magnitude higher average power and 12 order of magnitude higher peak power than SLM   Innovators & Portfolio: Sergio Carbajo    Alan Fry    Joseph Robinson