Czech lasersHiLASE
Laser technology is a key innovative force for a wide variety of applications and products in many areas of contemporary life. Laserlab-Europe (The Integrated Initiative of European Laser Research Infrastructures) aims to strengthen European leadership and competitiveness in this crucial area.
The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IPS) is the Czech Republic’s largest research institute with more than 1,300 employees. It is also the most successful Czech research institution in obtaining both international and national grants and subsidies. The Institute has received 75 grants in the European Commission Framework Programmes. One of the supported projects and the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic is ELI Beamlines – Extreme Light Infrastructure. The world’s second most important laser centre of excellent research is HiLASE – High average power pulsed LASErs.
Goals, Focus, Potential
The laser is a tool of the 21st century and laser technology is one of the most significant areas in many of the world’s research institutions. Czech research is one of the most important. Their research results are projected into almost every conceivable area of human activity – from nanotechnology to medicine, industrial production, military functions, and communication.
Therefore, the issues currently addressed by the Institute of Physics which contribute to European and global knowledge in the field, are very diverse. For example: hybrid laser technology, preparation of single crystals of GGAG for lasers, synthesis and study of properties of NIR-absorbers based on organometallic nickel complexes, laser and optical technologies, phosphors applicable to the construction of solid-state lasers, pulsed laser evaporation with matrix assisted pulse lasers (MAPLE), laser irradiation and cellular response, development of diode-pumped solid-state lasers in the high-energy class, physics of laser-matter interaction, laser material modification, development of diode-pumped lasers with high average power and sub-picosecond pulse lengths, and laser technologies for industrial applications.
ELI BEAMLINES
A European research centre that operates some of the most intense laser systems in the world with an international team of scientists. It provides us with unique tools for pioneering research not only in physics and materials science, but also in biomedicine and laboratory astrophysics.
EU or ELI?
ELI Beamlines also provides new educational and training opportunities for whole generations of students and younger scientists in the fields of lasers, light-matter interaction and photonics. The ELI-CZ consortium was established to maximize the impact of ELI in the Czech Republic. It consists of 14 leading universities and research institutes of the CAS and coordinates the preparation of individual research programmes, education, and training programmes for students and the development of major technologies.
HiLASE
The Czech Republic has invested 32 million EUR in the construction of the next generation HiLASE laser facility in Dolní Břežany, Central Bohemia. Innovation is stimulated, in addition to involvement in the Laserlab-Europe project, in cooperation with the STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council). The centre provides access to next generation laser technology in the form of a diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) architecture.
Lasers are being used in the nanostructuring of surfaces or micromachining as well as in high-performance applications such as LSP (Laser Shock Peening). They can be used to produce significantly more efficient, lighter, and cheaper magnets for electric motors, as well as lighter and smaller batteries for electric cars. They are becoming indispensable for the rapidly growing photonics industry (the production of photovoltaic panels and foils or semiconductor lighting sources). The automotive industry is, of course, another important area for various material processing applications. Laser is also important in metal 3D-printing technologies.
Key Words
Laser, lidar, pulse, optics, light, power, industry, medicine, focus, beam, photon