Breakthrough in Ultrafast Laser Technology Unveils Light’s Immediate Impact on Matter’s Properties

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have developed a groundbreaking method to study ultrafast laser interactions with materials at attosecond scales—one billionth of a billionth of a second. This advancement allows scientists to observe the intricate changes in material properties, such as turning opaque materials transparent or altering conductivity, in real-time. The innovative dual-laser technique, created by a team led by Professor Nirit Dudovich, uses one laser to modify the material and another to capture these changes as they occur. The results can significantly impact the fields of communications and computing by enabling the design of faster processors and enhancing our understanding of quantum light-matter interactions. The findings, detailed in the paper "Attosecond Transient Interferometry," were published in Nature Photonics.