JST > Q-LEAP > Next generation laser

光・量子飛躍フラッグシッププログラム(Q-LEAP)次世代レーザー技術領域

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Technological Area

In this division, R&Ds on advanced laser systems are being promoted ensuring close cooperation between the CPS laser manufacturing research group and the ultrashort pulse laser research group.

1 CPS laser manufacturing
Laser utilization is progressing in automotive and electronics industries. The current global market scale for laser materials processing systems is 1.5 trillion yen and an annual growth rate of about 5-10% is expected going forward (study by Optech Consulting). In parallel, in the field of manufacturing, increasing efforts are ongoing to enhance productivity through cyber physical systems (CPS). In the laser processing field as well, CPS laser manufacturing* using artificial intelligence as well as simulations based on the science of laser processing, which will lead to building smart production systems.
*CPS laser manufacturing is high-precision, cost-effective laser processing in which the optimal processing parameters are determined from laser processing results estimated with artificial intelligence and science-and-theory-based simulations.

2. Ultrashort-pulsed laser
Pulsed laser light sources which can generate ultrashort pulses whose temporal width is in the range of 10-100 femtoseconds (10-15 s) are now available on the market and are used both in academia and industry. In basic research areas, researchers are focusing on ultrafast phenomena occurring in a much shorter time range of attoseconds (10-18 s). If the temporal resolution of the measurements reaches attoseconds so that ultrafast motion of electrons within atoms and molecules can be probed in real time, mechanism of chemical reactions are expected to be elucidated on a microscopic level of electrons. On the side of future industrial applications, attosecond laser pulses are expected to facilitate the development of highly-functional materials such as photocatalysts and solar cells with high efficiencies and magnetic devices with highspeed readout and writing and high-density recording. In this project, in order for these frontiers in academia and industry to be explored, attosecond light sources and measurement systems in which attosecond light pulses are employed will be developed.