Project information
- Funder
- EIC (The European Innovation Council) - Horizon Europe
- Period
- 1.7.2026–30.6.2029
- Registration number
- 101257260
- Budget
- €0.33M for the Prague team, €3.0M total
Summary
Optical materials are essential for technology. A new method in rapid pulsed laser deposition is enabling the fabrication of rare-earth doped sapphire. Exploiting enhanced thermo-optic properties, there is the potential to increase laser power by more than tenfold in Yb:sapphire thin disks compared to Yb:YAG thin disks. The EIC-funded FAST project will deliver breakthroughs that significantly enhance the performance of laser technology. The project also aims to address amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), which limits the power scalability of thin-disk lasers. By nanoengineering key surfaces of the Yb:sapphire active elements, their optical properties will be modified to mitigate parasitic ASE. This will enable the development of a new generation of thin-disk gain elements for extreme-power photon engines. FAST lasers will unlock new opportunities in space science.