I. Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanic break through in high-power laser.

  Recently, it was learnt from The Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanic of Chinese Academy of Sciences that new progress has been made in the research of high-power laser equipment “Shenguang II”, which is now the largest system operating in China. After years of research, the precision technology were appraised and accepted by the State.

  The expert group of Chinese Academy of Sciences pointed out that the laser drivers made in China have reached the level of similar international products in terms of core technology of laser power balance, laser target position precision and control of quasi square-wave pulse output.

II. Japan is successful in developing the fast laser recording technology

     Recently, the Japanese company Nichia declared that it had broken the record of blue-ray laser recording speed. According to the company, a new kind of blue-violet ray can fill a double-layer disc of 54G at a speed over 10X. Most of the blue and HD DVD laser recorders launched by a wide range of manufacturers record disks at a speed of 2X. And only a few can record at the speed of 4X. 

 The meaning of the difference between 10X and 2X depends on the popularization of future high-speed blue ray. It takes about 50 minutes for a 2X DVD recorder to record a full-length DVD film in a disk. While a 10X DVD recorder takes only about 10 minutes to finish the same task.

      The recording speed depends on laser  energy. The new blue-violet semi-conductor laser produced by Nichia is said to be able to operate within the range of 320mW, while the common blue-ray equipment at consumer level operates within the range of 20mW.

 Recently, the UCSB team, previously leaded by Shuji Nukamura, the blue ray technology inventor and a former researcher of Nichia, demonstrated the first non-polar blue-violet laser in the world. It is said that with this technology, blue ray can be produced, that can operate within the range of 500mW. However, it will takes 2-4 years to popularize this technology of non-polar blue ray.

III. The project of technology of extreme ultra violet laser source has been appraised and accepted. 

   Presently, the projects of technology of extreme ultra violet laser source, which were carried out by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanic of Chinese Academy of Sciences has been appraised and accepted. This indicates that China has reached the advanced level in the world in terms of the next core technology of CMOS chip process, i.e. transformation efficiency of extreme ultra violet laser source.

   As a new type of microelectronic laser recording technology, “extreme ultra violet laser recording”uses the “Soft X-ray”with a wavelength of 13.5 nm as an exposed source and will finally become the leading technology to produce integrated circuit with smaller lines.

IV.  Sterlite invented a new type of fiber optic cable manufacturing technology. 

     Sterlite, the only optic fiber manufacturer in India, recently declared that it has obtained a patent for its new type of optic fiber manufacturing technology. This invention, with the patent No. of IN203463, is called “A method to produce low polarization mode dispersion (PMD) twisted fiber optic cable”. This patent was official approved by the State Patent Bureau of India in November, 2006. During this fiscal year, Sterlite has obtained 4 items of India patents. Sterlite stated that its efforts will help it with establishment of a leading status in the field of technology and market and that it will endeavor continuously to bring more new technology to users.

V. Laser technology can cool an object to close to absolute zero.

   Recently, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology stated that they succeeded in using laser cooling technology to cool an object of coin size to close to absolute zero. This result created the record of the lowest temperature to which laser cools an object of the same size. With such technology, scientists are expected to cool bigger objects to absolute zero for observation of quantum behavior.
The Quantum Theory was presented in the early period of the 20^th century to explain the behavior of atoms which cannot be explained with Classical Mechanics. However, if the object is big, the quantum effect is covered by the heat and motion of the object and the inter-reaction between two is affected by classical mechanism including gravity and electromagnetism. In order to observe the quantum effect of bigger objects, we have to cool them to absolute zero (or extremely close to absolute zero), under which the objects will remain almost motionless. At absolute zero temperature, the atoms of substance lose all of their heat energy , leaving only quantum motion.

    The researchers said that they cooled a mirror of the size of a nickel to absolute 0.8 degree. Under such a temperature, one gram of substance moves very slowly. During a period of 13 billion years (the age of the universe), it will march 40,000 km, equivalent to a circle of the earth. In order to achieve extremely low temperature, the researchers combined optical trapping and optical damping technologies. They applied two beams of laser to the suspended mirror, one of which locked it in a fixed position and the other slowed down its motion and took away its heat energy. As a result, under the influence of two powerful beams of laser, the mirror tremained almost motionless. Therefore, laser technology can cool objects to close to absolute zero. This scientific research result has a very promising prospect in application.