About
Our EIC Pathfinder science-to-technology breakthrough will provide the foundation for a revolutionary optically active material through the development of Functionalised Activated Sapphire Thin-disk (FAST) elements.
We believe FAST will be instrumental in future extreme-power laser systems, as passive ultra-high-temperature (<2000°C) sensors in hostile environments, and a potential platform for photonic integrated circuits in quantum-information systems.
Why Sapphire?
Sapphire is an exemplary material that combines extreme hardness and the capacity to incorporate rare-earth (RE) ions into its crystal lattice. FAST is exploiting these unique properties to develop high-performance Yb:sapphire thin disks using Rapid Pulsed Laser Deposition (RPLD), a radically different crystal-growth technique that promises RE-doped sapphire with much higher dopant concentrations than conventional methods can achieve.
By overcoming current material limitations, FAST aims to create a new “super gain material” capable of delivering over ten times the laser power of today’s Yb:YAG thin-disk laser technology, opening the door to transformative advances in high-energy ultrafast lasers and high-power amplifier systems.
Main Objectives
Advance a crystal-growth technique, Rapid Pulsed-Laser Deposition (RPLD), to make optical-quality rare-earth-doped sapphire Thin-Disk Lasers.
Exploit nanofabrication and advanced mirror technologies to functionalise the activated sapphire Thin-Disk Lasers to overcome key thermal and power-scaling limitations.
Validation of the FAST concept via demonstration of a laser system based upon the active-mirror FAST composite.
Work Packages
WP1: Project management
WP2: Concept designs and modelling
WP3: RPLD Rare-Earth-Doped Sapphire (REDS) growth
WP4: Sub-wavelength FAST nanoengineering
WP5: FAST active mirror
WP6: FAST laser validation
WP7: Innovation, communications and exploitation