Boston Chapter of the IEEE Photonics Society

Laser Workshop

Wednesday, October 10, 17, 24, November 7, 14, 2012, 7:00-9:30 PM
Located at MIT Lincoln Laboratory - 244 Wood Street, Lexington, MA, 02420, USA

The amazingly rapid progress in laser technology, leading to their now ubiquitous utilization in all aspects of everyday life since their invention in the early 1960's, suggests that practicing professionals should become knowledgeable about their fundamental properties and applications.  We now know that lasing action can take place in solids, liquids, gases, and plasmas, with a power output that can vary from micro-watts (10^-6) to peta-watts (10¹⁵), and with wavelengths from milli-meters (terra-hertz) to nano-meters (x-ray).  Laser use now influences the everyday activities of our lives - from the mundane to advanced applications in several different arenas:

(1.) Personnel laser uses includes retail barcode scanners, DVD/CD optical disks, laser pointers and designators, laser printers, advertising displays, theatre/entertainment, laser light shows, and soon laser TVs

(2.) Manufacturing laser uses include material processing, engraving, welding, cutting, microscopy and medical imaging, medical therapy and surgery, chemical diagnostics and spectroscopy, environmental monitoring, land surveying, heat treatment of all types of material, holography, and high speed communications (both optical fiber and free space)

(3.) Scientific laser uses include many areas of research, such as optical bio-medicine, materials science, artificial stars in astronomy, homeland security explosive and bio-hazard detection, advanced integrated optics/fiber optics device development, nonlinear optics, photo-chemistry, optical tweezers, and high-power laser particle accelerators

(4.) Military laser uses include the aiming and control of conventional kinetic weapons, laser radar (LIDAR), various extremely high power laser weapons, very high sensitivity sensors (gyroscopes and accelerometers), and probably other things that can't be discussed

(5.) Advanced Research laser uses include laser cooling and heating in the creation of exotic new forms of matter, quantum computing, quantum cryptography, quantum communications (all involving quantum entanglement), and both laser nuclear fission and fusion.

The goal of this workshop is to introduce the attendees to two areas:

(1.) the fundamentals of laser physics

(2.) the exploration of many different laser applications, especially the application of lasers in displays, medical/biological procedures, engraving/material processing, and laser fusion.

In addition the organizers aim is to foster communication and collaboration among the many different fields of laser science of the individual engineers and researchers attending.  Thus, to learn more about the rapid advances of laser technology direct from ten of the foremost researchers in these different laser specialties register for and attend this local Boston Laser Workshop.

For more information on the technical content of the workshop, contact either:
1) Edward Buckley (ebuckley@ieee.org), Workshop Chair
2) Frank Leard (fleard@ieee.org), Workshop Committee Co-Chair
3) Farhad Hakimi (fhakimi@ieee.org), Workshop Committee Co-Chair
4) Robert Stephenson (Robert.Stephenson@ieee.org), Boston Photonics Society Chair