Expanding the possibilities of light to cancer diagnostics, green technology, and carbon-free energy
Light is something we are so used to that we take it for granted. From the early hours of the morning to bedtime, light surrounds us like the air that we breathe. Most of us think of light only as the opposite of darkness: without light, it would be impossible for us to see. However, light can do so much more for us. Regina Gumenyuk’s research at Tampere University focuses on the most powerful form on light: laser, and particularly fiber-based laser systems.
Although both can be seen by the human eye, laser is a lot different from ordinary light. Ordinary light has different wavelengths: we have all heard of ultraviolet light, visible light, the colors red, blue, and green, and infrared light, all representing different wavelengths of light. Laser light is monochrome, meaning it only has one color. Ordinary light has no direction and is diffused, and laser light is extremely directional and can travel for hundreds of meters without being scattered. Light and laser are very different when it comes to what they are used for: ordinary light sources are used for illumination and lasers are used in many different applications, including laser printers, eye surgeries, tattoo removal, barcode readers, fiber optic technology, and even metal cutting machinery. More applications are being developed every day.
Shedding light on early-stage cancer diagnostics
Regina Gumenyuk’s research at Tampere University focuses on the development of advanced fiber-based laser systems for a vast range of emerging applications. These include material processing, bioimaging, laser treatment, environmental sensing, and spectroscopy. She is currently coordinating three European projects including two Horizon 2020 and one of the most competitive programs in EU – EIC Pathfinder Open.
– My pioneer ultrashort pulsed laser system emitting in the third biological window is a primary source for a new generation of optical imaging systems for early-stage and precision cancer diagnostic, Gumenyuk says. -We are developing it together with the partners under my coordination within the frame of Horizon 2020 AMPLITUDE project.
Laser systems form the backbone of greener technology
The ultra-high power laser system, assembling within the frame of the PULSE Horizon 2020 project, has great potential to become a backbone for low-waste and sustainable material processing launching a new technological leap in smart solutions for green technology.
– In this innovative approach, we aim to develop a new technological process for fusion. This work offers the tantalising possibility of aneutronic fusion as a waste-free nuclear energy source and radical new configurations of particle accelerators, leading to an efficient positron beam acceleration. The results will benefit society with game-changing new approaches to clean, safe energy production, Gumenyuk explains.
– My future life and professional vision are to expand to laser technology to a radically new level and to discover even more possibilities of light, Gumenyuk concludes.
Keywords: Laser systems, fiber-based laser systems, material processing, cancer diagnostics, green technology, carbon-free energy, Tampere University, Tampere Institute for Advanced Study