Peter Moulton on the Ti:Sapphire laser

Summary

Peter Moulton, Vice President and CTO of Q Peak Inc., discusses the evolution of solid-state lasers, focusing on the development of titanium sapphire lasers. He recounts his early work at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on tunable solid-state lasers and the breakthrough with titanium-doped sapphire in 1982. The technology's commercialization in the late 1980s revolutionized the scientific laser community, replacing dye lasers and enabling ultrafast laser applications in biology and chemistry. Moulton also touches on the Nobel Prize-winning chirped pulse amplification and its role in creating high-energy, ultra-short pulse lasers, which have significant scientific and commercial impacts.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Peter Moulton is the VP and CTO of Q Peak Incorporated, a small R&D organization focused on laser research and development.
• 🏢 Q Peak is part of Physical Sciences Incorporated, a larger company with a national presence, specializing in advanced solid-state lasers and non-linear optical systems.
• 🔬 Moulton's career began at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in 1970, where he worked on tunable solid-state lasers, including an unsuccessful thesis on semiconductor lasers.
• 💡 His research led to the discovery of titanium-doped sapphire as a viable material for lasers, which had a broad gain line and different properties from the initial ruby lasers.
• 🌟 In 1982, Moulton successfully demonstrated the laser operation of titanium sapphire, which later became a commercial product replacing dye lasers in the scientific community.
• 🏥 The titanium sapphire laser found applications in various fields, including testing erbium fiber amplifiers and basic science research.
• 🔍 The laser's ability to generate ultra-short pulses was a significant breakthrough, enabling the study of fast molecular dynamics and earning a Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 🌈 Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) technology, developed by Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland, allowed for the amplification of these short pulses to high energies without damaging the laser system.
• 🚀 The combination of titanium sapphire and CPA technology led to the creation of lasers capable of producing terawatt to petawatt peak powers in compact systems.
• 💸 The titanium sapphire laser has had a substantial economic impact, with an estimated product sales of around $600 million, and has been crucial for the scientific laser industry.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Q Peak Incorporated?

Q Peak Incorporated focuses on laser research and development, specifically on advanced solid-state lasers, non-linear optical systems, and product development.

How long has Q Peak Incorporated been in operation?

Q Peak Incorporated has been in operation for 25 years, starting as part of the research division of Schwartz Electro-Optics in 1985.

What was Peter Moulton's role at MIT Lincoln Laboratory?

Peter Moulton worked on his thesis and developed tunable solid-state lasers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory from the early 1970s until he left to start his company in 1985.

What was the subject of Peter Moulton's thesis at MIT?

Peter Moulton's thesis was an attempt to create a tunable solid-state laser in a semiconductor.

What was the breakthrough material that Peter Moulton discovered for laser development?

Peter Moulton discovered that titanium doped sapphire (Ti:Al2O3) was an effective material for laser development, particularly in the 1.8 to 2 micron region.

What was significant about the titanium dopant in sapphire?

The titanium dopant in sapphire was significant because it had a very broad gain line, making it one of the broadest lines of any known laser material, especially in solid-state materials.

When and where was the successful demonstration of the titanium sapphire laser first announced?

The successful demonstration of the titanium sapphire laser was first announced at the Quantum Electronics Conference in Munich in 1982.

How did the titanium sapphire laser impact the scientific community?

The titanium sapphire laser replaced the dye laser as the mainstay of the scientific tunable laser community, starting around 1988 and 89, and rapidly became accepted for various scientific applications.

What was the significance of the mode-locking discovery in titanium sapphire lasers?

The mode-locking discovery allowed titanium sapphire lasers to generate extremely short pulses, approaching the fundamental limit of the material, which was crucial for studying fast events in biology and chemistry.

What is Chirped Pulse Amplification and how does it relate to titanium sapphire lasers?

Chirped Pulse Amplification is a technique that allows for the stretching of very short pulses to high energies without damaging the laser system's optics. When combined with titanium sapphire lasers, it enabled the generation of terawatt to petawatt peak power pulses in compact systems.

What is the economic impact of the titanium sapphire laser according to Peter Moulton?

The titanium sapphire laser has had a substantial economic impact, with accumulated product sales estimated around 0.6 billion dollars, sustaining the scientific laser industry for several years.