Our research in collaboration with students, research associates and other researchers in Waterloo in Canada and beyond, focuses on understanding the way that intense laser radiation in extremely short femtosecond pulses* interacts with and modifies matter.
* one femtosecond is one thousand million millionth of a second or 10 -15s.
Our research projects are focused on the Interaction of
Femtosecond Laser Pulses with Matter.
The key to understanding how these laser pulses have such a dramatic effect on matter is to consider the massive electric field which they create for a short time. This field is bigger than the one which binds electrons to an atom and so the interaction can rip matter apart. We are interested in understanding how this process happens, and how we can harness it to image matter and create matter with new useful properties.
Laser Source System and CPA
Laser Control System
Optical Setup
Laser Engraving Machine
The Vacuum Chamber for Coulomb Explosion Experiment
Hollow Fiber and Chirped Mirror Compressor System
Polyynes Production System
In addition we want to exploit it in order to image molecular processes on the fastest timescales, using the technique of Coulomb imaging. We can also use it to modify matter in order to generate nano particles and fabricate nano scale structures, as well as to explore new therapeutic possibilities.
The femtosecond laser electric field is bigger than the one which binds electrons to an atom, and so the interaction can rip matter apart.
We are interested in understanding how this process happens...
Ultrafast Laser Matter Events and News
News
Congratulations to Aydin
"Reconstructing real-space geometries of polyatomic molecules undergoing strong field laser-induced Coulomb explosion" Has been accepted for publication in the journal Physics Communications (part of the Nature group of journals)
Visiting the Extreme Laser Infrastructure (ELI) in Prague
Recently, Professor Joseph Sanderson was part of a delegation representing Canadian scientists associated with the Advanced Laser Light Source (ALLS) which visited the Extreme Laser Infrastructure (ELL) in Prague to discuss closer ties...
Afaf Almoabadi presents research at the 2024 Photonics North Conference
Our PhD student, Afaf Almoabadi, participated in the Photonics North 2024 conference, held in Vancouver from May 28th to 30th. Afaf contributed to the conference by presenting a poster on her latest research.