Scientists have developed a thin disk laser oscillator that could help solve a mystery of modern physics

Scientists at Helmut Schmidt University /UniBw H have developed a particularly powerful thin disk laser oscillator that can achieve top performance previously only possible with multiple amplifications of complex and huge laser systems. New devices could help solve the biggest mysteries of modern physics.

Scientists from Helmut Schmidt University /UniBw H in Hamburg have succeeded in developing a particularly powerful thin disk laser oscillator.

Unlike laser amplifiers, laser oscillators simultaneously generate and amplify laser radiation from a single device.

The core of the new system consists of a laser amplifying medium with a special thin disk geometry and a special mirror that forms the laser resonator. The laser can emit 14 million pulses per second, each containing 110 megawatts of peak power.

Until now, these superior values could only be achieved through multiple amplifications of complex and large laser systems. The new thin-disc oscillator developed by Professor Pronin's group at the Professor of Laser Technology and Spectroscopy Group can now achieve such values with a simpler structure and without additional amplification.

Due to its peak power, the output radiation of the new oscillator can be converted into the deep ultraviolet spectrum range, where no frequency-stable laser currently exists. This type of deep ultraviolet laser will make possible a new type of extremely accurate clock - the nuclear clock - that could help scientists probe dark matter and solve the biggest mysteries of modern physics.

In addition, the newly developed instruments, once on the market, will provide more new applications in areas such as ultraviolet-band semiconductor metrology and high-end high-precision spectroscopy.

Source: Laser Net