International Conference of Laser Applications

The International Conference on Lasers and Applications, Lasers 'XX was an annual conference organized by the former Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics. The conference, known in short by Lasers 'XX^[1][2][3] (where XX refers to the particular year), was held at various locations in The United States from 1978 to 2000.

Edward Teller participated in the panel discussions of Lasers '85, Lasers '87, and Lasers '92.

The emphasis of these conferences was laser development and in particular the development of high-power lasers.^[4][5][6] The papers delivered at these conferences were published in a series of hard-bound volumes known as Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers 'XX (ISSN 0190-4132) by STS Press. In total, more than 20 book proceedings were published.

A particular feature of these conferences was the organization of high-power panel discussions on timely topics of interest, such as the role of lasers in directed energy and the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.^[7][8] Noted physicists, including Edward Teller and Arthur Kantrowitz, participated in these discussions. Towards the end of the Cold War this conference enjoyed the participation of numerous Soviet laser physicists, including prominent authors such as Alexander Prokhorov and Nikolay Basov.^[9]

Julian Schwinger was plenary speaker at Lasers '88.^[9][10]

Willis Lamb was plenary speaker at Lasers '92.^[9][11]

A partial list of plenary and invited speakers include (in chronological order):

• Amnon Yariv,^[12]
• John Madey,^[7]
• Charles K. Rhodes,^[7]
• Kumar Patel,^[7]
• Robert Alfano,^[8]
• Marlan Scully,^[8]
• Colin Webb,^[8]
• Charles A. Brau,^[10]
• David C. Hanna,^[10]
• Serge Haroche,^[10]
• Julian Schwinger,^[10]
• William T. Silfvast,^[13]
• S. E. Harris,^[14]
• L. M. Narducci,^[14]
• Willis Lamb,^[11]
• Norman F. Ramsey,^[15]
• F. J. Duarte,^[16]
• Theodor W. Hänsch,^[16]
• Carl E. Wieman,^[16]
• David J. Wineland,^[9]
• Anthony E. Siegman,^[16]

Besides the emphasis on high-power lasers and panel discussions on this subject, many scientific disclosures made at these conferences went on to contribute to, or to inspire, further research in a variety of fields including:

• X-ray laser sources^[17][18]
• Tunable solid state lasers^[19]
• Tm:YAG lasers^[20]
• Rare gas halide lasers^[21]
• Solid-state organic lasers^[22]
• Laser dye photostability^[23]
• Laser crystals^[24]
• Lasing without population inversion^[25]
• Electromagnetically induced transparency^[26]
• Optics communications^[27]
• Digital imaging^[28]
• Holography^[29]
• Faraday filters^[30]
• Fiber fuses^[31]

From Lasers '88 to Lasers '96, the prestigious Einstein Prize for Laser Science was awarded.

References

1. Lasers '85 at Adsabs Harvard
3. Lasers '92 at NASA
4. Laser Focus 23(4), 203 (1987).
5. R. W. Conrad, Progress in dye lasers, Applied Optics 26, 653 (1987).
6. I. L. Bass et al., High average power dye laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Applied Optics 31, 6993-7006 (1992).
7. C. P. Wang, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '85 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1986).
8. F. J. Duarte, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '87 (STS Press, Mc Lean, VA, 1988).
9. F. J. Duarte, Laser Physicist (Optics Journal, New York, 2012).
10. R. C. Sze and F. J. Duarte, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '88 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1989).
11. C. P. Wang, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '92 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1993).
12. R. C. Powell, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '83 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1984).
13. D. G. Harris and T. M. Shay, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '89 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1990).
14. F. J. Duarte and D. G. Harris, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '91 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1992).
15. V. J. Corcoran, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '93 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1994).
16. V. J. Corcoran, Proceedings of the International Conference on Lasers '95 (STS Press, McLean, VA, 1996).
17. J. A. Kochet et al., Observation of gain-narrowing and saturation behavior in Se x-ray laser line profiles, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 3291–3294 (1992)
18. C. L. Gordon et al., Time-gated imaging with an ultrashort-pulse, laser-produced-plasma x-ray source, Optics Letters 20, 1056-1058 (1995).
19. V. Petricevic et al., Near infrared tunable operation of chromium doped forsterite laser, Applied Optics 9, 1609-1611 (1989).
20. G. J. Quarles et al., Efficient room-temperature operation of a flash-lamp-pumped, Cr,Tm:YAG laser at 2.01 µm, Optics Letters 15, 42-44 (1990).
21. C. B. Edwards et al., 60 ns e-beam excitation of rare-gas halide lasers, Applied Physics Letters 36, 617-620 (1980).
22. S. Popov, Dye photodestruction in a solid-state dye laser with a polymeric gain medium, Applied Optics 37, 6449-6455 (1998)
23. M. D. Rahn et al., Photostability enhancement of Pyrromethene 567 and Perylene Orange in oxygen-free liquid and solid dye lasers, Applied Optics 36, 5862-5871 (1997).
24. S. R. Rotman et al., Non-radiative energy transfer in non-uniform codoped laser crystals, Chemical Physics Letters 152, 311-318 (1988)
25. A. S. Zibrov et al., Experimental Demonstration of Laser Oscillation without Population Inversion via Quantum Interference in Rb, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 1499–1502 (1995).
26. G. R. Welch et al., Observation of V-type electromagnetically induced transparency in a sodium atomic beam, Found. Phys. 28, 621-638 (1998).
27. R. Wyatt et al., Optical communications system and method of protecting an optical route, US Patent 7,162,161 B2 (2007).
28. M. G. Allen et al., Digital imaging of reaction zones in hydrocarbon—air flames using planar laser-induced fluorescence of CH and C2, Optics Letters 11, 126-128 (1986).
29. P. Saari et al., Picosecond time- and space-domain holography by photochemical hole burning, JOSA B 3, 527-534 (1986).
30. J. Menders et al., Ultranarrow line filtering using a Cs Faraday filter at 852 nm, Optics Letters 16, 846-848 (1991).
31. R. Kashyap, The fiber fuse - from a curious effect to a critical issue: a 25th year perspective, Optics Express 21, 6422-6441 (2013).

External links: conference photographs

• Edward Teller gives press conference at Lasers'87
• Group photograph at Lasers'92 including, right to left, Marlan Scully, Willis Lamb, John L. Hall, and F. J. Duarte.
• Group photograph at Lasers'93 including (right to left) Norman F. Ramsey, Marlan Scully, and F. J. Duarte.
• Group photograph at Lasers'95 including (right to left) Marlan Scully, Theodor W. Hänsch, Carl E. Wieman, and F. J. Duarte.