Vladimir Pervak has won the second prize in the Design Contest of the Optical Interference Coating (OIC) conference in Tucson, AZ, USA. Pervak works as scientist in the Ultrafast Optics research group (UFO) of Prof. Ferenc Krausz, head of Chair of Experimental Physics (Laserphysics) at LMU. Two design problems had to be solved in the OIC-competition. The problems involved both a current application and a very early application of thin film coatings. An optical coating is one or more thin layers of material deposited on an optical component such as a lens or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic reflects and transmits light. The first problem in the OIC-competition was a theoretical coating for solar thermal applications. Coatings for solar energy applications are a timely subject because with the current energy initiatives, development of cost effective alternative energy sources is a priority. To improve the efficiency of the solar absorption, the coating needs to have high solar absorption but low emittance at 450ºC. The second problem related to a very early application of thin film coatings: the Fabry-Perot interferometer. In optics, a Fabry–Pérot interferometer or etalon is typically made of a transparent plate with two reflecting surfaces, or two parallel highly reflecting mirrors. Etalons are widely used in telecommunications, lasers and spectroscopy to control and measure the wavelengths of light. Simple metallic coatings for visible wavelength Fabry-Pérot etalons have been in use for over 100 years. This problem poses requirements for a broadband Fabry-Pérot etalon covering the near and mid-infrared spectral region where metal coatings are not viable. Due to dispersion in the reflected phase of broadband dielectric reflectors, it is difficult to design a Fabry-Pérot interferometer for the near and mid-infrared region with a constant bandwidth. The problem presented a challenge for the design of mirrors for this type of application. Pervak solved it by using computing optimization algorithms.

The laser is now 50 years old. The Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics (MAP) is celebrating this anniversary by presenting the photo exhibition “Light for the 21.st century”. The exhibition is shown in the entrance hall of the Klinikum Großhadern in Munich (Marchioninistraße 15). It will last until the end of August 2010. The illustrative pictures made by Thorsten Naeser (MPQ), present the fascinating aspects of the research of the scientists of the Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics. Short text contributions give insight into the scientific work with light.

When light is absorbed by atoms, the electrons become excited. If the light particles, socalled photons, carry sufficient energy, the electrons can be ejected from the atom. This effect is known as photoemission and was explained by Einstein more than hundred years ago. Until now, it has been assumed that immediately after the impact of the photons the electrons start moving out of the atom. This point in time can be detected and has so far been considered as coincident with the arrival time of the light pulse, i.e. with “time zero” in the interaction of light with matter. Using their ultra-short time measurement technology, physicists from the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (LMU) and the Technische Universität München (TUM), along with their collaborators from Austria, Greece, and Saudi Arabia, have now tested this assumption. Their measurements revealed that electrons excited simultaneously by a light pulse from different atomic orbitals leave the atom with a small but measurable time delay of about twenty attoseconds. One attosecond is one billionth of one billionth of a second. These new findings contradict the earlier assumption that the electrons leave the atom immediately after the light pulse has hit. The 25 June issue of Science magazine features these spectacular scientific insights on its cover.

Dr. Eleftherios Goulielmakis, a young research scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching (Germany), has been chosen by the International Commission of Optics (ICO) and the Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) that grants the Prize, as the recipient of the 2009 IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Optics “for outstanding contributions in attosecond physics, particularly for the generation of attosecond pulses and their application for the direct measurement of light waves”. The IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Optics is awarded to individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to applied optics and photonics during a maximum of eight years of research experience after having earned a PhD degree.

For the first time ever, a European research team has managed to use attosecond laser pulses to observe the motion electrons in molecules. This report is published in the journal Nature, issue June 10th.

One of the dreams of science is to directly harness fusion energy, the sun’s energy, on Earth. A huge laser facility has just been completed in California, where the stars’ fires will be ignited using laser pulses. To this end, the fuel must be heated to 100 million degrees. In Germany, most research into laser fusion has been conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics. Jürgen Meyer-ter-Vehn joined this group 30 years ago. Using his abilities as a theoretician, the nuclear physicist has made a substantial contribution towards furthering our understanding of the fundamental principles. This contribution was acknowledged with the award in 1997 of the Edward Teller Medal and in 2009 of the Hannes Alfven Prize.
Fusion energy is liberated during fusion of light atomic nuclei. Just as is the case in a diesel motor, laser fusion relies on compression and ignition of the fuel. Both processes, the compression to 1000 times solid density and the ignition spark, are triggered by pulses of light lasting just billionths of a second. Professor Meyer-ter-Vehn described the dynamics of these processes with sometimes astoundingly simple models, thus enabling the understanding of complex computer simulations. He co-authored the current leading book on this field with his Italian colleague, Stefano Atzeni.
Lasers can concentrate energy to extreme levels in space and time and thereby make nuclear fusion possible in microscopically small dimensions. Shortening of the pulse duration also permits the study of fundamental questions at smaller facilities. Even at the age of 70, Prof. Meyer-ter-Vehn is still working at MPQ on new possibilities for the exploitation of femto- and attosecond pulses for the ‘fast ignition’ of laser fusion. Over the decades, Prof. Meyer-ter-Vehn has acquired an excellent reputation among fusion research scientists. The MPQ and especially the members of the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics (LAP) congratulate him on his 70th Birthday.

With the start of the New Year 2010 the LAP-Team presents Attoworld on a new homepage. After two years of programming, collecting materials, authoring contributions addressed to the general audience and specialists, the new LAP-Webpage contains more than 400 pages, dealing with all aspects of Attosecond Physics at the Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik at Garching and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. The relaunched homepage attempts to provide insigth into the fascinating world of electrons and light waves, LAP-researchers work on in their experimental and theoretical studies, and presents the scientists who stand behind the research. We explain the basic concepts of how light interacts with matter and how these ultrafast interactions can be utilized to gain unprecedented insight into and - for the first time - control over microscopic processes relevant to our life as well as to development of novel technologies. We also offer a look behind the scenes of our work for our colleagues and experts worldwide. Like Attosecond Science, our new homepage will be like a living organism. Attosecond Science affords promise for providing spectacular new insights into nature and affecting the future course of development of major technologies. Our new homepage will report about these developments with tutorial articles, interviews, illustrations, and photos. If you are interested in the evolution and impacts of this fascinating field, it will be worth taking a look at attoworld.de!

Munich physicists develop new method to generate highly energetic carbon beams using intense laser pulses.

Motion in the microcosm is to be recorded by a team at the Laboratory of Attosecond Physics of LMU and MPQ by means of ultrashort flashes consisting of individual elecrons. The project is being funded with 2.5 million euro "ERC Advanced Investigator Grant" awarded by the European Union to Prof. Ferenc Krausz.