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Crystal zoom: lasers with new architecture will increase the accuracy of cancer treatment
Russia has developed lasers with a new light scheme, where several channels are amplified in one crystal. The innovation significantly increases the power of the system, while maintaining its simplicity and compactness. Laser particle accelerators designed according to a new principle can become the basis for advanced developments in the field of medical technology, electronic instrumentation, and high-precision material processing. Such devices will improve the accuracy and strength of the impact on cancerous tumors and pave the way for the creation of next-generation nanolithography facilities. In addition, experts believe that the technology will be in demand in the field of astronautics and data transmission systems. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
How can the laser be enhanced
Scientists at the A.V. Gaponov-Grekhov Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a multichannel laser of a fundamentally new light scheme. This solution significantly increases the power and stability of the beam, while maintaining the simplicity and compactness of the entire system. According to the authors of the project, the development can become the basis for the creation of a new generation of equipment in medicine, microelectronics and in the field of materials processing.
— We proposed the architecture of a multi-channel laser, where several beams are amplified in one crystal. This simplified the task of copying channels and made it possible to scale the output power. Thanks to the new scheme, the laser can operate in the mode of powerful short pulses that follow each other at a high frequency. This combination of force and speed in a single radiation source used to be difficult to achieve," Ivan Kuznetsov, senior researcher at the Department of pulsed lasers with high average power at the IPF RAS, told Izvestia.
To increase power, engineers traditionally create systems from several independent modules (channels), which are then combined into one beam, he explained. However, such a transformation is a complex technical task that requires the identity of all channels and the equality of radiation phases in them, which is technically difficult and expensive.
Ivan Kuznetsov, Senior Researcher at the Department of Pulsed Lasers with High Average Power, IPF RAS
Instead of such approaches, the new solution involves directing the separated light streams not into separate crystals, but into the same crystal amplifier, the scientist said. Thus, all rays pass through the same medium and experience almost identical distortions. Due to this, their phases remain consistent. Then a special controller subtly connects them to each other. As a result, there is no need to create separate amplification paths for each channel, as a result of which the entire system becomes simpler and more compact.
— Conventional rod lasers have a physical power limit for a single beam. The new scheme made it possible to circumvent this limit by simply adding the number of channels that are amplified in one active element. A four-channel system was demonstrated in the experiment. That is, the resulting laser has become four times more powerful than a single-channel one. In the future, we plan to create a 16-channel system, and this is also not the limit," said Ivan Kuznetsov.
How the new scheme will improve medical and space technology
Lasers that simultaneously have high peak and medium power are in demand in a wide variety of fields of technology. One of the most promising is the development of charged particle accelerators that can be used to treat cancer, the scientist said.
Such devices can become a more compact replacement for bulky vacuum-electronic particle accelerators, multi—storey complexes that are used in medicine for proton therapy of cancer. This will make radiation therapy cheaper and more accessible. But to achieve the required installation parameters, you will need to add at least 100 channels, which is a very ambitious task.
— The presented technology can also be used as a pump for an X-ray source in a new generation lithograph. The project to create this equipment is currently being implemented in the Russian Federation. Such a lithograph will make it possible to manufacture the most advanced microchips," Ivan Kuznetsov added.
According to him, the increase in the peak and average power of installations opens up new opportunities in the field of industry, where continuous lasers are used for cutting, welding and other types of processing. Strong and short pulses of light can instantly vaporize sections of the material without damaging neighboring areas. This opens the way to high-precision engraving and microrelief creation at a level inaccessible to conventional lasers. Another example is when the shock waves of powerful flashes strengthen the structure of metals in the surface layer without overheating the entire part.
— The development implements a new approach in laser radiation amplification. In the field of high—intensity laser sources, progress in increasing the power of laser radiation while maintaining the compactness of the system and the quality of the laser beam is a great achievement," Anastasia Fronya, associate professor of the Department of Semiconductor Quantum Electronics and Biophotonics at the Engineering Physics Institute of Biomedicine at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and senior researcher at the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
According to her, the development is promising for use in the generation of terahertz radiation. This range occupies a "niche" between infrared light and microwave radio emission and has a number of unique properties.
As the specialist explained, terahertz waves can penetrate through many opaque materials without causing (unlike X-rays) harm to living tissues. This radiation is highly sensitive to the water content and its condition, which is the basis for the diagnosis of malignant neoplasms. New laser amplifiers are also relevant for proton therapy devices for cancer diseases.
— High laser power reduces the time of surgical procedures and increases their effectiveness. The high quality of the beam ensures precise exposure, which minimizes damage to healthy tissues. This is especially important in ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and cosmetology. The compactness and reliability of the design will simplify the integration of the system into medical equipment," said Anton Krents, Associate Professor of Physics at Samara Korolev University.
Nanolithography in the manufacture of microchips, he added, requires a powerful, stable and uniform laser beam. The simplicity and compactness of the solution will reduce operating costs in industrial environments.
According to Vladimir Krevchik, Doctor of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, Professor at Penza State University, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, lasers of this type will also be in demand in metalworking, including in difficult climatic conditions, the military sphere, astronautics and data transmission systems. At the same time, the expert drew attention to the fact that so far only the principle of operation of the new laser has been presented, and not the finished device.
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