The Laser Development Department is involved with developing laser sources for a great variety of applications, and covers the complete spectrum, from basic research to industrial applications. On the one hand, resonator-internal pulse dynamics for ultrashortpulse fibre oscillators is being investigated. On the other hand, innovative concepts for compact mode-coupled fiber-oscillators with a wavelength around 2 µm are being developed for structuring organic solar cells.

The research emphasis of the LZH in the area of laser development is building and characterizing modern, diode-pumped, solid-state and fiber lasers.

 

One example for this work is the realization of single frequency, diode-pumped solid-stat lasers and fiber amplifiers for use in gravitational wave detectors. Further, department staff is developing fiber-based laser sources with variable pulse parameters for wide-range use in the marking industry.

 

The department has a wide range of equipment for developing and characterizing innovative passive and active fiber optical components.

 

Apart from the wide-based use of lasers, the Laser Development Department has specialized in realizing laser systems for missions in space, and the technical challenges connected with this, such as lifetime, weight and output. Apart from the optical design, also the mechanical, thermal and structural design are being qualified at the LZH in environmental tests. In addition to the group activities mentioned, three research groups for the Hannoverian Cluster of Excellency  Centre for Quantum Engineering and Space-Time Research (QUEST) can be found in the Laser Development Department, with the main emphasis placed on single frequency lasers for gravitational wave detection, fiber optics and space-borne optical systems.

 

Work in the department is divided into thematic areas, in the groups Ultrafast Photonics, Solid-State Photonics, Space Tehcnologies, and Single Frequency Lasers.