Periodic Reporting for period 4 - ENIGMA (ENIneering MAterial properties with advanced laser direct writing)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-07-01 al 2024-12-31
The interaction of an ultra-short light pulse with transparent material is an extremely complex phenomenon involving enormous pressures (1 million atmospheres), and extreme temperatures (>3000K) - the process by which materials are modified under these conditions is still not clear. By understanding and controlling this interaction we can harness ultra-short light pulses enabling nano-scale processing of materials for advanced photonics manufacturing sectors. Ultrafast laser material processing is approaching its limits in terms of ability to produce innovative materials with compositional and structural consistency. The main idea of this project is to remove barriers to product development and go beyond state-of-the-art by applying tailored and few-cycle laser pulses (FCLPs) for engineering of materials. The project is dedicated to the investigation the interaction between intense ultra-short light pulses and matter at or below the wavelength scale reaching states of matter found only deep in the cores of the Earth and other planets. A key goal of the project is to exploit extreme conditions of ultrafast laser writing for synthesising unique material phases with on-demand optical and electronic properties.
The control of self-organization process in materials such as crystals, glass-ceramics, transparent ceramics will revolutionize the field of data storage by achieving record high 100 TB/cm3 densities, high writing speed and practically unlimited lifetime. The results of this project radically improve the performance of printed flat optics with perfected nanostructures engineered from nano- to macro-scale and capable of replacing conventional optics significantly advancing photonic devices used in high-resolution microscopy, consumer electronics, and high-power laser applications. Hence this project will push the frontiers of laser material processing to unprecedented precision and will develop novel family of devices that will feed into the future of optics, electronics and computing.
The control of self-organization process in materials such as crystals, glass-ceramics, transparent ceramics will revolutionize the field of data storage by achieving record high 100 TB/cm3 densities, high writing speed and practically unlimited lifetime. The results of this project radically improve the performance of printed flat optics with perfected nanostructures engineered from nano- to macro-scale and capable of replacing conventional optics significantly advancing photonic devices used in high-resolution microscopy, consumer electronics, and high-power laser applications. Hence this project will push the frontiers of laser material processing to unprecedented precision and will develop novel family of devices that will feed into the future of optics, electronics and computing.
Research under the ENIGMA project has yielded a number of results in fundamentals and applications of engineering material properties by advanced ultrafast laser writing.
High speed ultrafast laser nanostructuring by advanced energy deposition control (Optica, 8 (2021))
Ultrafast laser writing via microexplosion and isotropic nanovoid formation in transparent materials and its application to three-dimensional (3D) optical data storage was first demonstrated in 1996. Although the data density can be improved by using five-dimensional (5D) optical data storage by anisotropic nanostructures in transparent materials, high writing speed and density remains a major challenge for real-world applications. In our recent paper (Lei, Y., Sakakura, M., Wang, L., Yu, Y., Wang, H., Shayeganrad, G., & Kazansky, P.G. “High speed ultrafast laser anisotropic nanostructuring by energy deposition control via near-field enhancement”, Optica, Vol. 8, Issue 11, pp. 1365-1371 (2021)) we demonstrated high speed ultrafast laser anisotropic nanostructuring in silica glass by energy deposition control via near-field enhancement. The anisotropic nanolamella-like void structure is created via near-field enhancement from an microexplosion produced isotropic nanovoid. The nanostructures are exploited for 5D data storage with a writing rate of mega voxels/s, corresponding to a data recording speed of ~225 kB/s and a potentially high capacity of hundreds of TB/disc.
Multilayer error-Free 5D optical data storage by ultrafast laser nanostructuring in glass (submitted to Laser and Photonics Reviews, (2021))
The demand for energy efficient data storage technologies with high capacity and long lifespan is increasingly growing due to the explosion of digital information. In our recent paper (Wang, H., Lei, Y., Wang, L., Sakakura, M., Yu, Y., Shayeganrad, G., & Kazansky, P. G., “100-layer error-free 5D optical data storage by ultrafast laser nanostructuring in glass”, submitted to Laser and Photonics Reviews, (2021)) a five dimensional (5D) optical data storage with high capacity and ultralong lifetime is realized in silica glass by femtosecond laser-induced elongated nanopores (type X modification). The ultrahigh transmission of this birefringent modification, >99% in the visible range, allows recording and retrieving thousands of layers of multibit digital data practically. Furthermore, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is optically recorded with a data writing speed of 8 kB/s in 100-layer voxels and the proven data readout accuracy of 100%.
Laser Writing Creates Flat Optics in Glass (Light: Science & Applications, 9 (2020))
Conventional optics control the wavefront by the optical path or thickness and refractive index of their constituent materials. In our paper (Sakakura, M., Lei, Y., Wang, L., Yu, Y. H., & Kazansky, P. G., “Ultralow-loss geometric phase and polarization shaping by ultrafast laser writing in silica glass”, Light: Science & Applications, 9(1), 1-10, (2020); doi: 10.1038/s41377-020-0250-y) we reported a laser-writing method in silica glass that advances flat optics that exploits the geometric phase. New type of ultrafast laser birefringence nano-patterning in silica glass provides ultra-low scattering loss, coined as Type X modification. Low-loss modification is also crucial for achieving high-capacity polarization multiplexed 5D optical memory in glass.
Femtosecond laser-induced metamaterial nanostructures for smart window applications (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12 (2020))
Smart window is an important strategy to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. A tunable metamaterial-based nanopatterned VO2 thin film is produced for the first time using ultrashort laser pulses and examined for thermochromic smart window application (Bhupathi, S., Wang, S., Abutoama, M., Balin, I., Wang, L., Kazansky, P. G., & Abdulhalim, I., “Femtosecond laser-induced vanadium oxide metamaterial nanostructures and the study of optical response by experiments and numerical simulations”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12(37), 41905-41918, (2020)). The structures show enhanced transmittance in the near-infrared (NIR) region, with an improvement in NIR and solar modulation opening a new gateway for smart devices.
Self‐organized crystallization in unconventional glasses created by ultrafast laser irradiation (Advanced Optical Materials, 7 (2019), Advanced Optical Materials, 9 (2021)
The construction of functional photonic structures in transparent solids is required for various applications, such as 3D displays and optical information processing. In our paper (Zhang, B., Tan, D., Liu, X., Tong, L., Kazansky, P. G., & Qiu, J., “Self‐organized periodic crystallization in unconventional glass created by an ultrafast laser for optical attenuation in the broadband near‐infrared region”, Advanced Optical Materials, 7(20), 190059, (2019)), self-assembled crystallite-based grating nanostructures were created in an unconventional multicomponent glass with an ultrafast laser. Broadband variable near-infrared optical attenuators with a high attenuation ratio were demonstrated. In our paper (Zhang, B., Wang, Z., Tan, D., Liu, X., Xu, B., Tong, L., Kazansky, P. G & Qiu, J., “Ultrafast laser inducing continuous periodic crystallization in the glass activated via laser‐prepared crystallite‐seeds,” Advanced Optical Materials, 9(8), 2001962, (2021)) a dynamic process of ultrafast laser-induced continuous periodic crystallization to generate self-organized crystal arrays inside the glass is reported. This work not only opens an avenue for creating embedded periodic crystalline patterns with extremely high efficiency but also helps to clarify the dynamics of ultrafast laser nanostructuring inside transparent dielectrics.
Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams (Communications Physics, 3 (2020))
The use of structured ultrashort pulses with coupled spatiotemporal properties is emerging as a key tool for ultrafast manipulation. Ultrafast vector beams are opening exciting opportunities in different fields such as microscopy, time-resolved imaging, nonlinear optics, particle acceleration or attosecond science. In our work (Alonso, B., Lopez-Quintas, I., Holgado, W., Drevinskas, R., Kazansky, P. G., Hernández-García, C., & Sola, Í. J., “Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams”, Communications Physics, 3(1), 1-10, (2020)), we implemented a technique for the full characterization of structured time-dependent polarization light waveforms with spatiotemporal resolution, using polarization convertors fabricated by ultrafast laser nanostructuring and incorporated in a compact twofold spectral interferometer, based on in-line bulk interferometry and fibre-optic coupler assisted interferometry. The results pave the way for the full characterization of the most complex waves created up to now.
High speed ultrafast laser nanostructuring by advanced energy deposition control (Optica, 8 (2021))
Ultrafast laser writing via microexplosion and isotropic nanovoid formation in transparent materials and its application to three-dimensional (3D) optical data storage was first demonstrated in 1996. Although the data density can be improved by using five-dimensional (5D) optical data storage by anisotropic nanostructures in transparent materials, high writing speed and density remains a major challenge for real-world applications. In our recent paper (Lei, Y., Sakakura, M., Wang, L., Yu, Y., Wang, H., Shayeganrad, G., & Kazansky, P.G. “High speed ultrafast laser anisotropic nanostructuring by energy deposition control via near-field enhancement”, Optica, Vol. 8, Issue 11, pp. 1365-1371 (2021)) we demonstrated high speed ultrafast laser anisotropic nanostructuring in silica glass by energy deposition control via near-field enhancement. The anisotropic nanolamella-like void structure is created via near-field enhancement from an microexplosion produced isotropic nanovoid. The nanostructures are exploited for 5D data storage with a writing rate of mega voxels/s, corresponding to a data recording speed of ~225 kB/s and a potentially high capacity of hundreds of TB/disc.
Multilayer error-Free 5D optical data storage by ultrafast laser nanostructuring in glass (submitted to Laser and Photonics Reviews, (2021))
The demand for energy efficient data storage technologies with high capacity and long lifespan is increasingly growing due to the explosion of digital information. In our recent paper (Wang, H., Lei, Y., Wang, L., Sakakura, M., Yu, Y., Shayeganrad, G., & Kazansky, P. G., “100-layer error-free 5D optical data storage by ultrafast laser nanostructuring in glass”, submitted to Laser and Photonics Reviews, (2021)) a five dimensional (5D) optical data storage with high capacity and ultralong lifetime is realized in silica glass by femtosecond laser-induced elongated nanopores (type X modification). The ultrahigh transmission of this birefringent modification, >99% in the visible range, allows recording and retrieving thousands of layers of multibit digital data practically. Furthermore, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is optically recorded with a data writing speed of 8 kB/s in 100-layer voxels and the proven data readout accuracy of 100%.
Laser Writing Creates Flat Optics in Glass (Light: Science & Applications, 9 (2020))
Conventional optics control the wavefront by the optical path or thickness and refractive index of their constituent materials. In our paper (Sakakura, M., Lei, Y., Wang, L., Yu, Y. H., & Kazansky, P. G., “Ultralow-loss geometric phase and polarization shaping by ultrafast laser writing in silica glass”, Light: Science & Applications, 9(1), 1-10, (2020); doi: 10.1038/s41377-020-0250-y) we reported a laser-writing method in silica glass that advances flat optics that exploits the geometric phase. New type of ultrafast laser birefringence nano-patterning in silica glass provides ultra-low scattering loss, coined as Type X modification. Low-loss modification is also crucial for achieving high-capacity polarization multiplexed 5D optical memory in glass.
Femtosecond laser-induced metamaterial nanostructures for smart window applications (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12 (2020))
Smart window is an important strategy to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. A tunable metamaterial-based nanopatterned VO2 thin film is produced for the first time using ultrashort laser pulses and examined for thermochromic smart window application (Bhupathi, S., Wang, S., Abutoama, M., Balin, I., Wang, L., Kazansky, P. G., & Abdulhalim, I., “Femtosecond laser-induced vanadium oxide metamaterial nanostructures and the study of optical response by experiments and numerical simulations”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12(37), 41905-41918, (2020)). The structures show enhanced transmittance in the near-infrared (NIR) region, with an improvement in NIR and solar modulation opening a new gateway for smart devices.
Self‐organized crystallization in unconventional glasses created by ultrafast laser irradiation (Advanced Optical Materials, 7 (2019), Advanced Optical Materials, 9 (2021)
The construction of functional photonic structures in transparent solids is required for various applications, such as 3D displays and optical information processing. In our paper (Zhang, B., Tan, D., Liu, X., Tong, L., Kazansky, P. G., & Qiu, J., “Self‐organized periodic crystallization in unconventional glass created by an ultrafast laser for optical attenuation in the broadband near‐infrared region”, Advanced Optical Materials, 7(20), 190059, (2019)), self-assembled crystallite-based grating nanostructures were created in an unconventional multicomponent glass with an ultrafast laser. Broadband variable near-infrared optical attenuators with a high attenuation ratio were demonstrated. In our paper (Zhang, B., Wang, Z., Tan, D., Liu, X., Xu, B., Tong, L., Kazansky, P. G & Qiu, J., “Ultrafast laser inducing continuous periodic crystallization in the glass activated via laser‐prepared crystallite‐seeds,” Advanced Optical Materials, 9(8), 2001962, (2021)) a dynamic process of ultrafast laser-induced continuous periodic crystallization to generate self-organized crystal arrays inside the glass is reported. This work not only opens an avenue for creating embedded periodic crystalline patterns with extremely high efficiency but also helps to clarify the dynamics of ultrafast laser nanostructuring inside transparent dielectrics.
Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams (Communications Physics, 3 (2020))
The use of structured ultrashort pulses with coupled spatiotemporal properties is emerging as a key tool for ultrafast manipulation. Ultrafast vector beams are opening exciting opportunities in different fields such as microscopy, time-resolved imaging, nonlinear optics, particle acceleration or attosecond science. In our work (Alonso, B., Lopez-Quintas, I., Holgado, W., Drevinskas, R., Kazansky, P. G., Hernández-García, C., & Sola, Í. J., “Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams”, Communications Physics, 3(1), 1-10, (2020)), we implemented a technique for the full characterization of structured time-dependent polarization light waveforms with spatiotemporal resolution, using polarization convertors fabricated by ultrafast laser nanostructuring and incorporated in a compact twofold spectral interferometer, based on in-line bulk interferometry and fibre-optic coupler assisted interferometry. The results pave the way for the full characterization of the most complex waves created up to now.
5D storage crystal joins Tesla Roadster on incredible space journey. The successful launch of the new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, by SpaceX from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida into a Mars orbit around the Sun, has captured the world’s imagination and attention mainly because of its power but also because of its payload (http://optics.org/news/9/2/10(si apre in una nuova finestra)). Famously aboard the spacecraft is a Tesla Roadster, owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, but joining the bright red sports car on its journey around our solar system is the Arch Library (https://archmission.org/(si apre in una nuova finestra)) created using 5D optical storage technology.
”The Future Starts Here” in Victoria and Albert Museum, London Eternal copies of Hawking’s Brief History of Time and UDHR exhibited at ”The Future Starts Here” in Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 6 Oct 2018 – 4 Nov 2018 https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-future-starts-here(si apre in una nuova finestra); https://www.wallpaper.com/lifestyle/the-future-starts-here-exhibition-preview-at-the-vanda-museum-london(si apre in una nuova finestra); https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/arts/design/victoria-and-albert-museum-exhibition-future.html(si apre in una nuova finestra)
5D Memory Crystal with milestones in physics preserved for eternity to celebrate 50th anniversary the European Physical Society presented by Institute of Physics, 19 November 2018, London https://beta.iop.org/reflections-50th-anniversary-european-physical-society(si apre in una nuova finestra) https://twitter.com/PhysicsNews/status/1064881099225075712;https://www.5dmemorycrystal.com/events/params/post/1655781/5d-memory-crystal-with-milestones-in-physics-preserved-for-eternity-to-cele(si apre in una nuova finestra)
Memory crystal featured on BBC's "The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqjrpt(si apre in una nuova finestra). Recent coverage of 5D Memory Glass has included The Independent, The Daily Mail, Metro, CNN, Sky News, Huffington Post, IFL Science, BBC Click, BBC 5 Live, CNBC, ITV Meridian,Discovery Channel and widespread TV coverage in the US and Europe; media monitoring service logged at least 400 news articles with 1.2 billion potential views.
Our progress in the framework of ENIGMA project and collaboration with Microsoft resulted in success and acknowledged by CTO Satya Nadella in 2019 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RibuBbifziY(si apre in una nuova finestra)) as major breakthrough to transform future of large-scale data storage with multibillion dollar market.
The work featured in various popular programs during 2020 including BBC's People Fixing the World (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08pq5dn(si apre in una nuova finestra))
German National Radio (https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/tolle-idee-was-wurde-daraus-datenspeicher-aus-glas.676.de.html?dram:article_id=484937(si apre in una nuova finestra))
History Channels’ programme Ancient Aliens S15E05 "The Mystery of the Stone Giants", https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7uify8(si apre in una nuova finestra)
The goals are expected to reach by the end of the project.
”The Future Starts Here” in Victoria and Albert Museum, London Eternal copies of Hawking’s Brief History of Time and UDHR exhibited at ”The Future Starts Here” in Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 6 Oct 2018 – 4 Nov 2018 https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-future-starts-here(si apre in una nuova finestra); https://www.wallpaper.com/lifestyle/the-future-starts-here-exhibition-preview-at-the-vanda-museum-london(si apre in una nuova finestra); https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/arts/design/victoria-and-albert-museum-exhibition-future.html(si apre in una nuova finestra)
5D Memory Crystal with milestones in physics preserved for eternity to celebrate 50th anniversary the European Physical Society presented by Institute of Physics, 19 November 2018, London https://beta.iop.org/reflections-50th-anniversary-european-physical-society(si apre in una nuova finestra) https://twitter.com/PhysicsNews/status/1064881099225075712;https://www.5dmemorycrystal.com/events/params/post/1655781/5d-memory-crystal-with-milestones-in-physics-preserved-for-eternity-to-cele(si apre in una nuova finestra)
Memory crystal featured on BBC's "The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqjrpt(si apre in una nuova finestra). Recent coverage of 5D Memory Glass has included The Independent, The Daily Mail, Metro, CNN, Sky News, Huffington Post, IFL Science, BBC Click, BBC 5 Live, CNBC, ITV Meridian,Discovery Channel and widespread TV coverage in the US and Europe; media monitoring service logged at least 400 news articles with 1.2 billion potential views.
Our progress in the framework of ENIGMA project and collaboration with Microsoft resulted in success and acknowledged by CTO Satya Nadella in 2019 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RibuBbifziY(si apre in una nuova finestra)) as major breakthrough to transform future of large-scale data storage with multibillion dollar market.
The work featured in various popular programs during 2020 including BBC's People Fixing the World (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08pq5dn(si apre in una nuova finestra))
German National Radio (https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/tolle-idee-was-wurde-daraus-datenspeicher-aus-glas.676.de.html?dram:article_id=484937(si apre in una nuova finestra))
History Channels’ programme Ancient Aliens S15E05 "The Mystery of the Stone Giants", https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7uify8(si apre in una nuova finestra)
The goals are expected to reach by the end of the project.