In October 1959, an unknown 32-year-old physicist Theodore "Ted" Maiman (Theodore "Ted" Maiman) used pink ruby crystals to create something called "optical laser "Span 3span Opticalmaser, Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission ofRadiation ).
Theodore H. Maiman Theodore H. Maiman
Starting the project did not go smoothly, and a more outstanding scientist Art Schawlow announced that it was impossible to achieve laser effects. May 16, 1960 , Meyman proved that he was wrong . He and his assistant Irnee d'Haenens observed that once the flashlight voltage on the flashlight exceeds a certain level, the fluorescence lifetime of the ruby will be greatly reduced (as seen from the device's spectral output). This change heralds the beginning of stimulated emission, in which incident photons from the flash lamp drop the excited electrons in the ruby to a lower energy level, and in the process emit photons with the same energy as the incident wave. Then came the laser (LASER, Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)-light amplified by the emission of stimulated radiation-was born.
LASER principle
After that, too many scientists kept pace with Maiman (including Schawlow) and made their own pioneering contributions to laser technology. Soon after, this so-called novel technology soon became an indispensable tool in surgery and industrial processing. By 1964, the status of laser was very high in the eyes of the public ( James Bond movie "Gold Finger", the villain threatened to use laser to cut Bond ).
Since its invention, with new designs and new wavelengths, more and more applications have been opened. The laser technology has become more powerful and can be seen everywhere around us.
(1) Theoretical source
1 is not a form of electromagnetic radiation. Max Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918 for his discovery of fundamental energy quantum. Planck is engaged in thermodynamics research, trying to explain why " blackbody " radiation (absorption of light of all wavelengths) does not radiate light of all frequencies equally when heated.
Max Planck
In Planck’s most important book published in 1900, he inferred the relationship between energy and radiation frequency. Energy can only be discrete. "Chunk" (chunk) is emitted or absorbed, he called quantum ( quanta ) , even if these chunks are small. His theory inspired emerging physicists such as Albert Einstein ( Albert Einstein ). In 1905, Einstein published a paper on the photoelectric effect. The paper proposed that light also transfers energy in bulk. In this case, discrete particles are now called photons ( photons ) .
Einstein
In 1917, Einstein proposed the 4strong 7 laser to make possible the stimulated emission of 7 _span7 strong. In addition to spontaneous absorption and emission of light, electrons can also be excited to emit light of a specific wavelength. However, in order to prove Einstein's correctness and make the laser a ubiquitous tool today, scientists have gone through 40 years of research.
(2) Application of laser
1span 1span 1 The expansion of laser technology is (1) multiple wavelength ranges, (2) selection of various types of materials, and it has entered daily life. At the end of 2018, the laser market exceeded $12.9 billion (Markets and Markets, December 2018).
A self-driving car equipped with lidar and other navigation sensors (provided by Waymo).
This fantastic light has become an indispensable tool for many industries. Gartner analysis company data shows that lithography technology plays a central role in semiconductor manufacturing.The total revenue in 2018 was US$477 billion. Based on the lidar system safe autonomous driving car, today’s market may not be large, but AMR forecasts that by 2026, the size of the market may reach 550 billion Dollar. AMR said that by 2023, the medical laser market (solid-state lasers, gas lasers and semiconductor lasers) will be between 12 and 13 billion US dollars, mainly for popular medical applications including cardiovascular, dermatology and and Eye-related treatments. Network giant Cisco predicts that by 2022, the optical fiber market used by optical networking, data center and long-distance transmission will still have an average annual growth of 26%.
Semiconductor lithography is the core step in the manufacturing process, as shown in the exposure and printing effect diagram of EUV lithography of semiconductor wafer on the stage (provided by ASML).
(3) The history of laser development
, physicist Ossis, California, May 16, 1960 ·H·maiman (Theodore H. Maiman) with a diameter of 1 cm,A synthetic ruby cylinder with a length of 2 cm produced the first laser. Both ends of the cylinder are silver-plated, which is reflective and used as a Fabry-Perot resonator. Maiman uses a photographic flash as the pump light source for the laser.
Theodore H. Maiman Theodore H. Maiman (HRLLaboratories LLC)
Java, , , Bell Laboratories, December 1960: Billill, , Bell Laboratories Bennett Jr. and Donald Herriott developed the helium-neon (HeNe) laser , which was the first laser to generate a 1.15μm continuous beam.
June 1962: Bell Labs reported the first yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) crystal laser .
1963: Herbert Kroemer (Herbert Kroemer) of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Rudolf Kroemer of the Eifif Institute of Physics and Technology in St. Petersburg, Russia Rudolf Kazarinov respectively proposed the idea of manufacturing semiconductor laser .This work won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.
1964: CO2 laser Kumar invented by Patel Laboratories. It was the most powerful continuous operation laser at that time, and it is now used as a cutting tool in surgery and industry worldwide.
1964: Nd: YAG (neodymium-doped YAG) laser was invented by Joseph Eeph. Later, it is ideal for cosmetic applications, such as laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (lasik) vision correction and skin repair.
Gao Kun
1966: Gao Kun ( Charles K. Kao , a low-attenuation technology realized by George Hockham Strong) and British Standard Telecommunications Break through . He determined that the use of high-purity glass fiber can transmit optical signals within a distance of 100 km.Gao Kun's work won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics.
1977: The first commercial installation case of optical fiber communication : Bell Labs implemented an underground optical fiber communication system in Chicago.
1978: LaserDisc entered the home video market , the first player used laser and later IR laser tube reader media.
laser disc
1981: Schawlow and Bloembergen won the Nobel Prize for the development of 3strong4span strong laser spectroscopy.
Diwen Zhu
1985: Diwen Zhu of Bell Labs (US Secretary of Energy, 2009-13) used lasers to slow down and manipulate atoms.Their laser cooling technology is used for the study of atomic behavior. Zhu Diwen, Claude N. Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips won the Nobel Prize in 1997 for this work.
David Payne
1987: David Payne of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom developed the strongspan strongspan strongspan 7 strong span1 _span7. This kind of optical amplifier does not need to convert optical signals into electrical signals and then into light, which reduces the cost of the long-distance optical fiber system.
September 2009 Intel announced its LightPeak fiber technology, lasers entering home PCs. Light Peak contains a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) , which can send and receive 10 billion bits of data per second (which means it can transmit the entire Library of Congress in 17 minutes).
Remote laser cutting. (Fraunhofer ILT) laser cutting
2016 manufacturer of semiconductor lithography tools ASML announced EUV ( (Extreme ultraviolet) lithography technology is finally ready.Through the laser-generated plasma method, an infrared carbon dioxide laser emits concentrated pulses to tiny droplets of molten tin. After filtering out the final emission pulse, the result is a 13.5 nm or EUV light pulse. This technology and the wavelength it produces is much shorter than the 193 nm deep ultraviolet laser used in semiconductor production, and is the key to the continued development of semiconductor manufacturing.
The complete optical path of the EUV scanner, which uses light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm for semiconductor lithography (picture provided by ASML)
span1 _span7strong fiber laser span3span has become more and more powerful, Lockheed Martin developed for the US military weapon . In the March test, the system produced a beam of 58 kW, which is a world record for this type of laser. In a 2015 test, a laser of half this intensity paralyzed a truck a mile away. According to published reports, by combining multiple beams and working near the diffraction limit, the laser reaches the threshold of 60 kW. It is said that the laser system is highly efficient and can convert more than 43% of electrical energy into light.
tactical vehicles are equipped with a kilowatt laser weapon system (picture provided by Lockheed Martin)
2018 July,The laser system of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) set a new record: 2.15 megajoules. This is more than 10% higher than the record set in March 2012.
The National Ignition Device’s 192 laser system set a record: 2.15 MJ (picture provided by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
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laser technology has a very open market, with active R&D and application. After 60 years of development, laser-related products, technologies and services have formed a rich and huge industry. Upstream: optical materials and components; midstream: various lasers and their supporting devices and equipment; downstream: laser application products, laser manufacturing equipment, consumer products, instruments and equipment.
The laser industry has played an important role in the development of Chinese manufacturing, Internet of Things, and smart manufacturing.
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