ETH researchers achieve world’s shortest laser pulse

With a pulse duration of only 43 attoseconds, the laser pulse from ETH Zurich is the shortest in the world. More generally, it is also the “shortest controlled event that has ever been created by humans,” writes ETH Zurich. The time resolution in the range of a few quintillionths of a second allows the researchers to observe in high detail how electrons move within a molecule or how chemical bonds are formed. 

Attosecond spectroscopy makes it possible to follow charge transfers in real time. This could contribute to the development of more efficient solar cells as it is now possible to follow step by step the process of excitation through sunlight up to the generation of electricity. A more detailed understanding of charge transfer could also help optimize the efficiency of next-generation photosensitive elements.

But attosecond laser spectroscopy is suitable for much more than just mere observation, explains ETH Zurich. Ultra-short laser pulses can directly manipulate chemical reactions: they can alter the course of a reaction and even break chemical bonds by stopping the charge shift at a certain location in the molecule. Such targeted interventions in chemical reactions were not been possible until now. 

Researchers led by Hans Jakob Wörner are now working on the next generation of even shorter laser pulse.