Completed Cooperations
Ongoing Cooperations
FASTQUAST
A Marie Curie Initial Training Network supported by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme.
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The project is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network supported by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme. The network started in September 2008 with a duration of 48 months. The objective is to set up a network on advanced techniques for ultrafast manipulation of atoms and molecules by strong femtosecond laser pulses, with special focus on strong-field coherent control | nuclear and electron wavepacket dynamics | alignment of molecules with applications to collisions, high harmonic generation and adsorption | control of chemical processes | characterization and control of decoherence | stabilization of cold atoms and molecules | quantum state and process tomography | ultrafast information processing | ultrafast spectroscopy & microscopy | production of UV and VUV shaped laser pulses.
ATTOFEL
Illuminating molecules from within : Calculations show that with new short pulse x-ray light sources, it should be possible to use photoelectron emission to make movies of changes in molecular structure
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The program will focus on attosecond pulse generation in aligned molecules in order to image the molecular orbitals that radiate this XUV light. The experimental work will include the design and operation of a setup that will allow i) the laser-induced alignment of molecules, ii) the generation of XUV radiation and iii) its careful characterization in the spectral domain. The theoretical aspects corresponding to each of these landmarks and their application to molecular orbital imaging will also be studied.
Max-Born-Institute
Lasers can now generate light pulses down to 100 attoseconds (1 attosecond = 10-18s = one billionth of the billionth of a second) thereby enabling real-time measurements on ultrashort time scales that are inaccessible by any other methods.
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Scientist at the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Time Spectroscopy (MBI) in Berlin, Germany have now demonstrated timing control with a residual uncertainty of 12 attoseconds. This constitutes a new world record for the shortest controllable time scale. They reported about in Nature Photonics. Light is an electromagnetic wave of very high frequency. In the visible domain, a single oscillation of the electric field only takes about 1200-2500 attoseconds. Consequently, an ultrashort laser pulse is comprised of a few of these oscillations. However, pulses from conventional short-pulse laser sources exhibit strong fluctuations of the positions of the field maximum relative to the pulse center. For maximum field strength, the center of the pulse has to coincide with a maximum of the electric field, as shown in Fig. 1 as a red curve. Consequently, methods have been developed to stabilize the position of the field maximum, i.e., the phase of the pulse. Together with Vienna based laser manufacturer Femtolasers, MBI researchers in the group of Günter Steinmeyer have now developed a new method to control the phase of the pulse outside of the laser. In contrast to previous approaches, no manipulation inside the laser is necessary, which completely eliminates fluctuations of laser power and pulse duration and guarantees a strongly improved long-term stability. Correction of the pulse phase relies on a so-called acousto-optic frequency shifter, which is directly driven by the measured signal. Dr. Steinmeyer is convinced: "This direct correction of the phase dramatically simplifies many experiments in attosecond physics and frequency metrology." Previously, stabilization of the position of the field maxima was only possible with a precision of about 100 attoseconds (10-16 s, corresponding to 1/20 of the wavelength), which is comparable to the shortest duration of attosecond pulses demonstrated so far. The new method allowed to push this limitation down to 12 attoseconds (1.2 x 10-17 s, 1/200 of the wavelength), which surpasses the atomic unit of time (24 attoseconds) by a factor of two. As the atomic unit of time marks the fastest possible time scale of processes in the outer shells of an atom, the new stabilization method will enable significant progress in the research on the fastest processes in nature. This success strongly relied on a close collaboration with laser manufacturer FEMTOLASERS who provided a specifically optimized laser for the joint experiment and is currently developing products based on this new method.
AMATID
The project aims at developing advanced methods for material recognition and their applications in security and industrial NDT (non-destructive-testing).
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Novel techniques for material identification in the field of security screening and non-destructive testing are explored by improving and combining dual-energy X-ray radioscopy/tomography and THz-spectroscopy. AMATID “Advanced Material Identification in Security and Quality Control” is a CIR-CE – “Cooperation in Innovation and Research with Central and Eastern Europe” Innovation Project. CIR-CE is an RTDI funding programme developed and implemented by the FFG on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Labour (BMWA) and promotes co-operations between innovative Austrian companies and innovative companies from Central- and Eastern Europe.
FUN-OCT
Its objective is to expand state-of-the-art OCT medical imaging capabilities to include functional information, i.e., forming a novel medical imaging platform, and to demonstrate its general feasibility in selected clinical applications.
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The objective is realised by creating an ultra-high resolution and ultra-high speed imaging platform by the development of optical broadband light sources, optical components for beam steering, and hard- and software for integration and signal processing for functional OCT.
In addition to the laser, delivery systems for the envisaged medical applications and contrast agents for further enhancement of the tomogram quality are in the scope of the project. These developments enable unique three-dimensional real-time in-situ functional imaging providing unprecedented depth resolved functional tissue information that is essential to significantly improve early cancer diagnosis (e.g. skin-lung-cancer) as well as detection of retinal pathologies such as AMD and glaucoma that are worldwide leading causes for blindness.
FEMTOLASERS is full partner of the FUN-OCT consortium, performing a FP7-HEALTH collaborative project
FemtOgene®
a unique optical tool for nanobiotechnology, gene therapy and stem cell research.
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JenLab GmbH (Germany) in cooperation with FEMTOLASERS Produktions GmbH (Austria) presents at Photonics West 2008 the first device for gene manipulation with shortest laser pulses. JenLab introduces the laser microscope femtOgene®, a unique optical tool for nanobiotechnology, gene therapy and stem cell research. This product is suitable for optical gene transfer (delivery of foreign DNA) particular into cells of interest.
FemtOgene®: Targeted transfection by sub 20 femtosecond laser pulses
Press Release FemtOgene® (FEMTOLASERS)
Press Release FemtOgene® (JENLAB)