Innovative Projects Making Strides In Laser Industry

Laser Technology.

- Tasneem Bulbulia

The Laser Research Institute (LRI), part of the Physics Department at Stellenbosch University, has achieved notable research outputs during the past three years, which has resulted in several innovative projects, such as the ultrafast laser spectroscopy, as well as the infrared spectroscopy and laser projects.

“The ultrashort laser pulses, which are less than 100 femtoseconds or 10s to 13s long, are used to produce “movies” of very fast changes in material. In ultrafast molecular spectroscopy, these short laser pulses are used to investigate and improve new types of solar cells, called dye-sensitised solar cells,” says LRI professor Dr Heinrich Schwoerer.

He further explains that a coloured dye is used in these cells to absorb sunlight more efficiently and that his research group is investigating how electrons hop from the dye after it has been activated by sunlight to the semiconductor layer on which the dye is coated and then to the external electric circuit.