Laser scanning system for nanocolloid synthesis

Equipment to enhance the possibility of developing environmentally friendly synthesis of complex nanocomposites to be used in real-world applications such as catalysis, cell biolabelling, bacterial growth inhibition and the development of smart fluids. The main synthesis approach that will be exploited using the required equipment is laser colloid synthesis (LSC), a versatile and highly reproducible technique that allows the synthesis of complex nanostructures from almost any kind of solid material. An ultrafast laser source, capable of delivering peak intensities in excess of 1013 W/cm2 in times shorter than the usual electron relaxation time (10-12 s), is used to irradiate a solid target that is immersed in a liquid. Laser mass extraction leads to efficient separation of small particles from the material, resulting in the synthesis of colloids containing the desired nanostructures.

According to our design, we have implemented a complete laser workstation, where the output of the air-cooled femtosecond laser is led through a covered optical path to the scanning head, which is fixed perpendicularly placed in the sample chamber. The assembly is controlled from a PC and includes software to enable the creation of desired shapes and patterns, including subsequent control of the laser and scanner.

• Fully covered laboratory workstation (laser class I)
• Spot at 34 μm focus
• Field size 75 x 75 mm
• Scan head speed up to 2 m/s

The femtosecond laser used achieves an average power of 5 W with 400 fs long pulses and a repetition rate of 100 kHz.