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The Future of NASA’s Laser Communications

Laser communications systems provide missions with increased data rates, meaning they can send and receive more information in a single transmission compared to traditional radio waves. Additionally, the systems are lighter, more flexible, and more secure. Laser communications can supplement radio frequency communications, which most NASA missions us… Read More

Lasers to Detect Earthquakes, Tsunamis with Undersea Optical Internet Cables

On the day of the tremor, Giuseppe Marra, a principal research scientist at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, England, was running an experiment that beamed an ultra-stable laser through underground fibre-optic cables. It was part of a larger effort to build one of the world’s most accurate clocks, capable of measuring time to the nearest quintillionth of a second. Almost a thousand miles away from his native Italy, Marra did not feel the quake, but he heard about it on the news. The next morning, he walked to work to review the results of his e… Read More

Quantum Computing Advances with Discovery of New Phase of Matter

With faster speeds and the ability to run multiple algorithms at one time, quantum computers will be able to help solve some of the biggest technological issues our society faces. Because quantum computers rely on what are called qubits–atoms that possess a nuclear magnetic spin level that is manipulated in order to achieve the qubit state–unique things occasionally happen within thes… Read More

NASA to Inspire Global Collaboration with Mars Samples

Bringing Mars samples to Earth would allow scientists across the world to examine the specimens using sophisticated instruments too large and too complex to send to Mars and would enable future generations to study them. Curating the samples on Earth would also allow the science community to test new theories and models as they are developed, much as the Apollo samples returned from the Moon have done fo… Read More

‘Wormhole’ Galaxy Discovered by James Webb Telescope

Early data from the James Webb Space Telescope is already starting to come in, with exciting finds like views of Jupiter and a potential sighting of the most distant galaxy ever observed. But there’s a lot more Webb data being shared, and much of it is publicly available through the Space Telescope Science Institute’s MAST archive. That means enterprising astronomers are already digging through James Webb data to perform their own analyses, and have created some amazin… Read More

‘Quantum LIDAR’ Promises Micron Level Depth Resolution Imaging

Researchers have shown that a quantum-inspired technique can be used to perform LiDAR imaging with a much higher depth resolution than is possible with conventional approaches. LiDAR, which uses laser pulses to acquire 3D information about a scene or object, is usually best suited for imaging large objects such as topographical features or built structures due to its limited depth res… Read More

This ‘Atom Laser’ Can Stay On Forever!

A team of physicists from the University of Amsterdam has now managed to solve the difficult problem of creating a continuous Bose-Einstein Condensate. Florian Schreck, the team leader, explains what the trick was. “In previous experiments, the gradual cooling of atoms was all done in one place. In our setup, we decided to spread the cooling steps not over time, but in space: we make th… Read More

Fusion Energy: Critical NEW Details Emerge

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have uncovered critical new details about fusion facilities that use lasers to compress the fuel that produces fusion energy. The new data could help lead to the improved design of future laser facilities that harness the fusion process that drives the sun an… Read More

The US Navy is Testing Out Drone-Zapping Laser Weapons

In the search for a more cost-effective, efficient, and agile defense against increasingly modernized threats, such as armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, the US Navy has turned to directed-energy weapons (DEWs). The USS Portland, equipped with a laser weapon system, is the latest example of modern, cost-effective threat mitigation, effectively demonstrating the ability to destroy both a floating target and a drone in fiel… Read More

RPMC Lasers Announces Exclusive Partnership with Dausinger + Giesen

RPMC Lasers Inc, the leading laser distributor in North America, is excited to announce an exclusive distribution agreement with Dausinger + Giesen, allowing us to now offer their Thin-Disk Lasers and Thin-Disk Components. D + G provides leading edge thin disk laser components, such as thin disk gain media, thin disk pump modules, Pockels cells, and high-power opto… Read More

When Light Flashes for a Quintillionth of a Second, Things Get Weird

New experiments allow researchers to watch attosecond laser pulse pairs up close, allowing for a better understanding and control over these ultrashort pulse pairs. This interesting breakthrough could lead to some amazing advancements in spectroscopy, microelectronic manufacturing, medical equipment and surgeries, and who knows what else… This article explains this new development and discusses the potential future… Read More

The UK’s solution for enemy drones? Lasers.

The United Kingdom is investing roughly $100 million in new directed energy weapons across sea and land. Split into three contracts, and announced September 14 at the Defense and Security Equipment International exhibition in London, two of the direct energy weapons will be lasers that can stop drones, while the third will use radio to detect and track targets. It’s a push for a new kind of weapon that can face a new kind of threat, and do so cost-ef… Read More

HeNe Lasers: Bright Past, Brighter Future

The first HeNe laser was developed in 1960 at Bell Labs by Ali Javan, in conjunction with William Bennet Jr. and Donald Herriott. A helium–neon (HeNe) laser, is a type of continuously operating, or continuous wave (CW) gas laser in which the gain medium is a 10:1 mixture of helium and neon, pressurized within a glass tube. When a DC current is applied to two electrodes on opposite ends of the tube, helium atoms are excited into metastab… Read More

Blue Diode Lasers Enable High-Quality Non-Ferrous Metal Welding

Blue diode lasers have recently become known as an excellent tool for certain processing techniques regarding copper and other non-ferrous and highly reflective metals. Copper, gold, aluminum, and certain other metals absorb blue wavelengths more easily than any other wavelengths of visible or invisible light. This higher rate of absorption allows for both higher quality results and faster processing times, when typically, there is a trade off between quality … Read More

Ruggedized, MIL-Spec Er:Glass Lasers Tackle SWIR Challenges Head-On

Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) applications like laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), night vision, range finding, and time-of-flight (ToF) LiDAR benefit from the utilization of rugged, low SWaP. These applications often require the associated hardware components to be resistant to harsh environmental conditions in the field. Operating temperature range, shock and vibration, and size, weight, and power constraints are among the critical considerations when choosing the right laser tr… Read More

Unprecedented QCL Wavelengths for Enhanced Molecular Spectroscopy!

Steady growth in the nuclear industry has led to an increase in demand for more accurate, efficient, and reliable detection and monitoring of critical compounds, like Uranium hexafluoride (UF6) assay or Methyl Iodide (CH3i). This has led to the development of new technologies, enhancing the capabilities of molecular spectroscopy. Entities worldwide are developing advanced spectroscopy-based technologies and methods, aiming to decrease accidents with better safeguards, enable the rapid and precise assessment of nuclear plant … Read More

Industry Leading CW Laser Combiners: Critical for the Life Sciences

CW multi-wavelength combiners have proven to be a critical component in Life Science applications, reducing time, cost, and complexity, and fundamentally changing these applications, allowing for increased efficiency and ease of use. Given the immense degree of complexity and time involved with combining multiple laser beams into a confocal microscope, multi-wavelength combiner modules have flooded into the market in recent years. These plug-n-play style modules allow for swappable laser modules and quick and easy coupling with a confocal microscope, saving hours in precision alignmen… Read More