The main directions of scientific research and development of the department are:
- development of new optical and laser materials and solid-state lasers based on them;
- perspective mirror optical systems;
- technologies and equipment for high-precision processing of surfaces of optical glasses and single crystals;
- optical-electronic devices for remote sensing of the earth.
The department closely cooperates with the Research Center for Optical Materials and Technologies of BNTU (NIC OMT), which is one of the leading research centers of the republic in the field of laser materials. SIC HMT provides its laboratory facilities for teaching and research work of teachers and students, preparation of graduation projects.
Scientific school in the field of physics of laser materials
The founder of the school: Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, prof. Mikhailov V.P.
Year of establishment: 1985
Scientific supervisor of the school:
Head of the Department of Laser Engineering and Technology, BNTU, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Kuleshov N.V.
The main directions of scientific research carried out within the framework of the scientific school:
- diode-pumped solid-state lasers, including femtosecond lasers;
- new materials for diode-pumped solid-state lasers based on crystals with impurity centers;
- ultrafast phenomena in low-dimensional semiconductor structures;
- solid-state passive switches based on crystalline and glass-ceramic materials with impurity centers and nanoscale semiconductor structures for Q-switching and laser mode locking;
- laser processing of materials.
Quantitative and qualitative composition of the scientific school:
In total - 12 scientists, including: doctors of sciences - 3, candidates of sciences - 4; young scientists up to 35 years old - 5. 4 doctors of sciences and 11 candidates of sciences have been prepared.
Main scientific results:
- A number of new effective active media based on crystals of aluminates, borates, tungstates with impurity ions of rare earth elements (Yb 3+ , Er 3+ , Tm 3+ , Ho 3+ ) for diode-pumped solid-state lasers emitting in spectral regions of about 1 µm, 1.5-1.6 µm and 2 µm. The structure of energy levels is determined and regularities in the dynamics of excited states of impurity ions in these materials under various excitation conditions are established, which ensure efficient generation of the studied laser materials.
- The mode of passive mode locking with the generation of femtosecond pulses in diode-pumped solid-state lasers based on rare-earth ions has been implemented.
- An industrial diode-pumped femtosecond laser based on crystals of double potassium-rare-earth tungstates doped with ytterbium ions has been developed.
- A number of new solid-state passive switches based on crystals and glass-ceramic materials doped with transition metal ions for solid-state IR lasers have been proposed.
- Passive shutters based on glasses containing nanosized semiconductor particles have been developed for Q-switching and mode locking of solid-state lasers.
- New scientific results have been obtained on the dispersion of the temperature coefficient of the refractive index and the induced thermal lens in laser crystals of potassium-rare-earth tungstates and vanadates, and on this basis, circuit solutions for laser resonators based on these crystals have been proposed, which can significantly increase their efficiency.
The most significant implemented developments:
A number of cw solid-state laser emitters diode-pumped in the region of 1 μm based on crystals with ytterbium ions with an output power of 1 to 10 W was introduced at Peleng JSC. Serial production of optical-electronic systems using the developed laser emitters is being mastered.
A miniature diode-pumped erbium-glass solid-state laser for portable rangefinders with a spectral radiation range safe for the organs of vision (1.54 μm), operating in the passive Q-switching mode, has been introduced at the Research and Development Center "LEMT" of BelOMO.
Together with ZAO Solar LS, an industrial femtosecond diode-pumped laser has been developed.
Scientific relations with domestic scientific organizations and the international scientific community:
- Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Scientific and Practical Center for Materials Science of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (joint research and development within the framework of joint projects and tasks of scientific research programs).
- Institute of General Physics RAS, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, St. Petersburg Technical University, VNTs GOI im. S.I. Vavilova, Russia (joint research and development of new optical materials within the framework of RFBR-BRFFR projects and the program of the Union State “SG Nanotechnologies”).
- University of St. Andrews, UK (joint research on new ultrashort pulse lasers within the framework of projects of the Royal Society of Great Britain).
- Institute for Laser Physics of the University of Hamburg, Germany (joint research into new laser materials within the international projects of the BRFFR).
- Institute of Photonics of the Technical University of Vienna, Austria (joint research on new laser materials within the framework of ISTC projects).
In accordance with the Agreement on the establishment of the Belarusian-Chinese center for scientific research in the field of laser technologies between BNTU and Zhengzhou University, a department of the said Center was created in the structure of the Research Center for OMT of BNTU.
