Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: An on-chip time-lens generates ultrafast pulses: New device opens the doors to applications in communication, quantum computing, astronomy

Femtosecond pulsed lasers — which emit light in ultrafast bursts lasting a millionth of a billionth of a second — are powerful tools used in a range of applications from medicine and manufacturing, to sensing and precision measurements of space and time. Today, these lasers are typically expensive table-top systems, which limits their use in applications that have size and power consumption restrictions.