During the first three years, UVQuanT has advanced from design and early prototyping to the realisation of fully functioning demonstrator systems. The consortium has developed new high-power infrared and visible VECSEL lasers, environmentally protected frequency-conversion resonators, and a suite of specialised DUV optical components including coatings, mirrors, polarising elements, nonlinear crystals, and vacuum viewports.
These components have been integrated into complete laser systems producing stable DUV output at several key wavelengths. As a result, the project has enabled scientific breakthroughs that were previously out of reach. Using the new light sources, partners have demonstrated laser cooling and trapping of cadmium atoms at the shortest wavelength ever used in such experiments, breaking a nearly twenty-year-old record. Shortly afterwards, partners achieved the first laser cooling of aluminium monofluoride (AlF) molecules, opening a new class of molecular species for quantum experiments. Most recently, the consortium achieved the first magneto-optical trap of zinc, providing a strong validation of the reliability and performance of the new DUV systems.
Alongside these scientific results, industrial partners have produced tangible technological outcomes. These include high-damage-threshold coatings, hermetically sealed conversion resonators with precision temperature control, improved nonlinear crystals, and durable optical components capable of long-term operation at high DUV intensities. Several of these components are already being adopted by European laboratories outside the project.
Throughout this period, the consortium has worked closely across disciplines: laser developers refining designs based on feedback from end users, optical manufacturers improving component durability, and academic groups integrating the systems into quantum-technology experiments. This coordinated approach has accelerated development and ensured that the resulting technologies are scientifically useful and technically robust.
