The Shandong Attosecond Laser Science Laboratory, led by 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Ferenc Krausz, is launched in Jinan, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/Dazhong Daily]

A new era in ultrafast laser research began in Shandong on March 16 as Ferenc Krausz, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate and "father of attosecond laser", launched the Shandong Attosecond Laser Science Laboratory, the province's first international top-level scientist lab, at the Qilu University of Technology. Krausz will serve as the lab's director.

An attosecond is one quintillionth of a second and is the shortest time scale currently measurable by humans. Attosecond science allows scientists to track and manipulate electron motion. This breakthrough technology has the potential to transform fields such as biomedicine, precision material processing, and electronics.

The lab will establish an integrated innovation chain, spanning basic research, technological breakthroughs, and industrial application. "Thanks to continuous government support, Shandong's laser industry is thriving," Krausz said. "The efficient knowledge transfer from academia to industry here motivates me to build scientific and technological cooperation."

Shandong is a leading center for the laser industry in North China, with an output value exceeding 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) and supported by nearly 600 enterprises. Its large-scale laser processing equipment, semiconductor chips, and mid-infrared ultrafast lasers have achieved global leadership.

"This lab signifies strategic positioning in frontier research. We aim to develop it into a globally influential innovation hub," said Sun Haisheng, director of the Science and Technology Department of Shandong Province.