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Cut Curiously Precise Holes With Femto-Lasers

Posted by timothy on from the just-wanted-to-say-femto dept.

paymenow points out "this story at Science News Online about femto-lasers and how their novel 'cutting physics' allows much more precision than previous lasers. The technology is now finding applications in various industries including, biotech, automotive and laser eye surgery."

1 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Application to optical storage? by theedge318 · · Score: 3, Informative

    As a "math/science geek" who is dating an "optics geek" ... i can tell you this "femto-burning" is USELESS for increasing the data storage capacity of DVD/CDs. The constricting factor is the laser's wavelength. The laser's wavefront has a size that is propotional to the wavelength.

    Since a laser can't "see" objects (i.e. read data pits) smaller than the wavelength, computer chips are manufactured using Extreme-UltraViolet (EUV) lasers. However, size and $$$ are the current limiting factors for transitioning EUV to the desktop transition.

    Layering seems to be the way to go with getting more data on a disc (see a previous /. article on getting 87GB on a disc)

    --
    Sig Nazi- "No Sig for you, come back 1 year."