femtosecondlaser

A femtosecond laser is a laser that emits pulses of light with durations in the femtosecond range. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second, or 10^-15 seconds. These ultrashort pulses possess extremely high peak powers, even though their total energy per pulse is relatively low. This combination of high peak power and short duration allows for unique interactions with materials.

Femtosecond lasers operate based on techniques such as mode-locking, which forces many laser modes to oscillate in phase, leading to the formation of short, intense pulses. The precise control over pulse duration, energy, and repetition rate makes these lasers versatile tools.

Applications of femtosecond lasers span various fields. In manufacturing, they are used for precision machining, drilling, and cutting of materials like metals, ceramics, and polymers with minimal heat-affected zones. In medicine, they enable precise surgical procedures, such as LASIK eye surgery, and are being explored for tissue ablation and drug delivery. Research laboratories utilize femtosecond lasers to study ultrafast chemical reactions, probe material properties at the atomic scale, and generate high-harmonic radiation for X-ray generation. The ability to deposit energy into a material in an extremely short time before heat can diffuse away is key to their effectiveness in many applications.