Advanced Solid State Lasers Conference
Events
Advanced Solid State Lasers Conference
03 October 2021 – 07 October 2021 OSA Virtual Event - Eastern Daylight Time (UTC - 04:00)
Highlights new sources, advanced technologies, components and system design to extend the operation and application of solid-state lasers.
Essential Links
Topics
Materials
Materials are the basis for the technology covered by ASSL, and the meeting encompasses advances in optics, materials science, condensed matter physics and chemistry relevant to the development, characterization and applications of new materials and components for lasers and photonics. These include crystals, glasses and ceramics, as well as functionalized composite materials, from fibers and waveguides to engineered structures with pre-assigned optical properties. Materials used for fabrication of basic laser components are also a core part of the conference.
- Laser crystals and glasses
- Transparent ceramics and glass ceramics
- Advances in crystal growth and fabrication of glasses and ceramics
- Crystal and glass fibers, active and passive fibers
- Nonlinear materials and frequency conversion processes
- Saturable absorbers
- Novel approaches and materials for lasers — topological photonics, plasmonics, 2D materials for lasers
- Waveguides and laser patterning
- Semiconductors for lasers, LEDs and detectors
- Materials for lighting and laser displays
- Modeling and characterization methods of materials, components, laser and nonlinear properties
- Advances in mirrors, gratings and other selective components
- Advanced coating technologies including surface micro-structuring
- Laser materials and components with high damage threshold
Sources
Coherent and high brightness radiation sources include lasers as well as pump and nonlinear devices. Emphasis is on advances in science and technology, for improved power, efficiency, brightness, stability, wavelength coverage, pulse width, cost, environmental impact or other application-specific attributes.
- Bulk solid-state lasers based on crystals, ceramics and glasses
- Fiber and waveguide lasers
- Optical sources based on nonlinear frequency conversion
- High power CW and pulsed lasers in the UV, visible and IR
- Laser-driven THz, IR, visible, UV, XUV and X-Ray sources
- Laser beam combining and power scaling architectures
- Short-pulse lasers
- Frequency combs and frequency-stable lasers
- Microchip, compact, and monolithic lasers
- Tunable and new wavelength lasers
- Semiconductor lasers
- Lasing in disordered crystals and random media
- Spatial mode control in solid state lasers
- Application specific solid state laser architectures
Speakers
- Donna Strickland, University of Waterloo, Canada
From Nonlinear Optics to High-Intensity Laser Physics Plenary - Martin Bernier, Université Laval, Canada
Prospects for Power Scaling of Mid Infrared Fiber Lasers - Tso Yee Fan, Massachusetts Inst of Tech Lincoln Lab, United States
Thirty Years and More of Diode-pumped Yb3+ Lasers - Eduardo Granados, CERN, Switzerland
Tunable Single-frequency All-diamond Monolithic Raman Lasers - anke heilmann, Max Born Institute, Germany
High Power OPCPA Systems Generating High Harmonic Radiation at the Oxygen K-edge and Beyond - Emily Frances Link, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, United States
Technologies for Scaling High Peak Power Lasers to High Average Power - Nathalie Picqué, Max-Planck-Institut fur Quantenoptik, Germany
Supercontinuum in Diamond Waveguides and Optical Frequency Combs - Haohai Yu, Shandong University, China
Langasite Nonlinear Optical Crystals for Amplification of Mid-infrared Lasers - Kevin Zawilski, BAE Systems North America Tech Library, United States
High Average Power CSP Mid-IR OPO
Committee
Advanced Solid State Lasers Conference (ASSL)
Johan Nilsson, University of Southampton, UK, General Chair
Sergey Mirov, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States, General Chair
Materials
Peter Schunemann, BAE Systems Inc., United States, Program Chair
Carlota Canalias, Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, Sweden, Program Chair
John Ballato, Clemson University, United States
Matthias Bickermann, Leibniz Institute for Crystal Growth, Germany
Lynda Busse, US Naval Research Laboratory, United States
Patrice Camy, CIMAP-ENSICAEN, France
Weidong Chen, Fujian Inst. of Res Structure of Matter, China
Mark Dubinskii, US Army Research Laboratory, United States
Simon Duval, Universite Laval, Canada<
Romain Gaume, University of Central Florida, CREOL, United States
Corin Gawith, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Michal Koselja, Institute of Physics of rhe ASCR, Czech Republic
Jiang Li, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, CAS, China
Carmen Menoni, Colorado State University, United States
Patricia Segonds, Neel Institute, France
Takunori Taira, RIKEN / IMS, Japan
Nobuhiro Umemura, Chitose Inst. of Science and Technology, Japan
Sources
Mark Bowers, Lockheed Martin Aculight Corporation, United States, Program Chair
Clara Saraceno, Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany, Program Chair
Johan Boullet, Alphanov, France
Eric Cormier, University Bordeaux, France
Marc Eichhorn, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
Tino Eidam, Active Fiber Systems GmbH, Germany
Jonathan Evans, US Air Force Research Laboratory, United States
Andrew Forbes, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Federico Furch, Max Born Institute, Germany
Jennifer Hastie, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom
Yushi Kaneda, University of Arizona, United States
Helen Pask, Macquarie University, Australia
Christopher Phillips, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
V R Supradeepa, Indian Institute of Science, India
Masaki Tokurakawa, University of Electro-Communications, ILS, Japan
Gustavo Torchia, Centro De Investigaciones Opticas, Argentina
Real Vallee, Université Laval, Canada
Xia Yu, Beihang University, China
Pu Zhou, National University of Defense Technology, China
Plenary Session
Donna Strickland
University of Waterloo
From Nonlinear Optics to High-Intensity Laser Physics
The laser increased the intensity of light that can be generated by orders of magnitude and thus brought about nonlinear optical interactions with matter. Chirped pulse amplification, also known as CPA, changed the intensity level by a few more orders of magnitude and helped usher in a new type of laser-matter interaction that is referred to as high-intensity laser physics. In this talk, I will discuss the differences between nonlinear optics and high-intensity laser physics. The development of CPA and why short, intense laser pulses can cut transparent material will also be included. I will also discuss future applications.
About the Speaker
Donna Strickland is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo and is one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 for developing chirped pulse amplification with Gérard Mourou, her PhD supervisor at the time. They published this Nobel-winning research in 1985 when Strickland was a PhD student at the University of Rochester. Strickland earned a B.Eng. from McMaster University and a PhD in optics from the University of Rochester. Strickland was a research associate at the National Research Council Canada, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a member of technical staff at Princeton University. In 1997, she joined the University of Waterloo, where her ultrafast laser group develops high-intensity laser systems for nonlinear optics investigations. Strickland served as the president of Optica in 2013 and is a fellow of Optica, SPIE, the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Society. She is an honorary fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Physics and an international member of the US National Academy of Science. Strickland was named a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Steve Rummel
II-VI Incorporated
Shaping the Future with Photonics and Advanced Materials
From the invention of lasers in 1960, advances in materials and high-energy optical coatings have enabled a continuous stream of performance improvements. This progress has brought lasers to the forefront of metrology and manufacturing, and enabled processing of ever-more advanced materials such as diamond and silicon carbide. This trend continues as photonics takes center stage in the defining technology shifts of our era, from 3D sensing to laser additive manufacturing, EUV systems, and beyond. We will examine the megatrends driving these changes and what the future holds for them.
About the Speaker
Steve Rummel is the Senior Vice President of the Engineered Materials and Laser Optics Business Unit for II-VI Incorporated. Steve’s business unit drives innovation in laser technology for a wide range of applications, including in advanced manufacturing. As Senior VP, he oversees five divisions representing a broad range of materials and products: IR Optics, M Cubed, Marlow, Pacific Rare Metals, and Aerospace & Defense. Prior to being named Senior VP, he was Vice President of the Engineered Materials and Laser Optics Business Unit (2019), Vice President of the IR Optics Division (2016), and Vice President of Product Technology and Quality (2014). Steve joined II-VI in 1988 in engineering and has more than 32 years of materials and optics experience, collaborating with customer R&D and manufacturing teams to provide optical solutions for challenging laser development and application problems. Steve holds a master’s degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a BSEE degree from Grove City College. He has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, working closely with customers on optical product development and improvements for lasers and laser systems. Steve has authored and presented papers on materials for optical applications in the infrared and near-infrared. His work with advanced materials spans his entire 32-year career with II-VI.
Special Events
Technology Showcase: OPCPA Design and Manufacturing at Light Conversion
Monday, 04 October 10:00 – 10:20
Presenter: Valdas Maslinskas, Sales Engineer, Light Conversion, Lithuania
Description: LIGHT CONVERSION, is a pioneering manufacturer of femtosecond optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) and Yb-based femtosecond laser sources. Currently, it is one of the world’s leading femtosecond laser producers. Products scale from compact industry-grade lasers to large multi-table scientific optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifiers (OPCPA).
OPCPA is the only currently available laser technology simultaneously providing high peak and average power, as well as few-cycle pulse duration required by the most demanding scientific applications. LIGHT CONVERSION answers these demands with a portfolio of OPCPA products based on years of OPA and laser development experience.
Technology Showcase: Adjustable Mode Beam Laser Advantages for EV Welding Applications
Tuesday, 05 October 11:30 – 11:50
Presenter: Iurii Markushov, Senior Manager, Global Welding Applications, IPG
Description: To meet the demands and promise to deliver all electric fleets of vehicles in the next decade, auto manufacturers are challenged to find solutions that provide reliable, high-yield production while ensuring safe end-user components. Adjustable mode beam lasers are used to provide high-speed spatter-free welding of materials for electric motor components and EV batteries to meet the industry challenges. Low heat input laser welding offers the consistency and ability to control penetration depths to deliver welds that are porosity free with high surface quality across a wide range of material thicknesses. Combined with laser scan heads and real-time weld process monitoring, high-throughput laser welding with maximum quality assurance is achieved. Examples of laser welded copper, aluminum and steel will be presented.
Technology Showcase: OpticStudio STAR Module and Full System Modelling with the Zemax Suite
Wednesday, 06 October 08:00 – 08:20
Presenter: Esteban Carbajal, Sr. Product Manager, Zemax, United States
Description: Join Zemax Product Manager, Esteban Carbajal, as he highlights the power of the new OpticStudio STAR module and how it integrates into the Zemax suite for end-to-end optical product development. This talk will cover how complex thermal and structural effects can be understood in high-power laser systems and how Zemax tools empower intelligent design decisions and streamlined workflows:
Easily build STOP analysis into your optical design workflows. Get fast, accurate STOP results with confidence. Analyze the impact of structural and thermal loads on your optical designs with the OpticStudio Structural, Thermal, Analysis and Results (STAR) module. Extend OpticStudio’s capabilities to include structural, thermal, and optical performance (STOP) analysis based on finite element analysis (FEA) datasets. Reduce human error and wasted time spent aligning coordinate systems with visualizations and analyses that bring STOP analysis and OpticStudio into an integrated workflow.
• Import FEA data from any FEA package
• Perform numeric fitting with one-click
Technology Showcase: Improving USP Laser Reliability Through the Innovative Approach to Laser Cooling
Wednesday, 06 October 08:20 – 08:40
Presenter: Aldas Juronis, OEM Lasers Program Manager, EKSPLA, Lithuania
Description: FemtoLux 30 is the new femtosecond laser which employs an innovative cooling system and sets new reliability standards among industrial femtosecond lasers.
Other lasers of similar optical power use water for cooling, which means an additional bulky and heavy water chiller is needed. The chiller requires periodical maintenance. Moreover, in the unfortunate event of water leakage other equipment could be damaged. Instead of using water for transferring heat from a laser head, the FemtoLux 30 uses an innovative Direct Refrigerant Cooling method.
Refrigerant agent circulates from a compressor and condenser, that are integrated together with the PSU, to a cooling plate via armored flexible lines. The cooling plate is detachable from the laser head for more convenient laser installation.
The FemtoLux 30 femtosecond laser has a tunable pulse duration from <350 fs to 1 ps and can operate in a broad AOM controlled range of pulse repetition rates from a single shot to 4 MHz.
Maximum pulse energy is more than 90µJ operating with single pulses, but could be as high as 250µJ, while operating in a burst mode.
PhD-Level Transferable Skills That Stand Out During Economic Downturns (& How To Communicate Them Virtually)
Wednesday, 06 October 11:00 – 12:00
The global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company recently released a report showing that there is a 20% deficit in the job market for job candidates who can do two things - research, and analysis. These two transferable skills are key skill that all PhDs have regardless of their background and makes them highly valuable job candidates, especially in times of uncertainty. In this webinar, we will detail the top 10 transferable skills that PhDs need to communicate on their resume and during their job search as a while, as well as the 3 categories of core competencies that PhDs must master and leverage in order to get hired in industry.
