NakuLaser Blog

Unexploded bombs are and will remain a serious threat to civil security in many parts of the world. To be able to deactivate these bombs more safely in the future, Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH; Germany) is working on a laser-based bomb-defusing method together with Laser on Demand (Burgdorf, Germany) and the Kampfmittelräumdienst Hamburg (KRD). The challenges and dangers of conventional defusing methods are enormous and still highly topical: The amount of weapons hidden underground in Germany is difficult to predict, but according to KRD estimates, about 60,000 tons are still in the ground. During the defusing process there is an extremely high risk of unwanted detonation, especially in complex ignition systems. Often blowing up the dud remains as a last resort. Weakening of the casing takes explosive power In the DEFLAG project, the project partners LZH and Laser on Demand are working on a procedure to defuse the bombs by targeted deflagration. In contrast to a detonation, a lower

Femtosecond lasers are capable of processing any solid material with high quality and high precision using their ultrafast and ultra-intense characteristics. With the continuous development of laser technology, ultrafast laser manufacturing could become one of the primary methods employed in high-end manufacturing in the future. Recently, researchers have realized a new method of electron dynamics control for ultrafast laser micro/nano fabrication. For the first time, the localized transient electron dynamics can be actively controlled to manipulate material properties, which greatly enhances the efficiency, quality, uniformity and precision of laser fabrication. This research was conducted by the group of Professor Lan Jiang from Beijing Institute of Technology, in cooperation with Professor Tian-Hong Cui from the University of Minnesota, and Professor Yongfeng Lu from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Their research results were recently reviewed in Light: Science and Appli