The Photon Factory

The Photon Factory opened in 2010 as an advanced, multi-user pulsed laser facility in the Faculty of Science at The University of Auckland and part of the Dan Walls Center for Pure and Applied Optics. The high-tech, ultrafast laser pulses we generate are used for everything from discovering fundamental knowledge to manufacturing on a microscopic scale. The centerpiece of our laser facility is the ultrafast laser system. This Coherent Legend Elite laser is used to perform laser spectroscopy and to micromachine and microfabricate devices. The extremely short pulses (100 femtoseconds = 100 x 10-15s) give us a very precise “flash bulb” for time resolved spectroscopy measurements. Because the pulses are so short, they also provide extremely high intensities for cutting and shaping many, many materials, from glass to plastic to metals. At any point in time, we have more than a dozen active projects in the Photon Factory. We have recently been involved in projects in collaboration with industrial partners, including-Intuitive Surgical Inc. -Footfalls and Heartbeats Ltd. Microcircuits Ltd. Ltd. Science Ltd.