Institute of Solid State Physics on the occasion of 50 years since the invention of the Bulgarian copper bromide vapor laser

Sofia, April 21 (BTA/GNA) – The Institute of Solid State Physics (ISSP) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the invention of the copper bromide vapor laser (CuBr laser) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) on April 24.

The program of the event includes presentations from the scientists involved in the creation of the prototype, on the application of the copper bromide vapor laser, on the development and prospects of laser technologies. There will also be an exhibition presenting both the entire cycle of physical research and development, as well as exhibitions of lasers currently being manufactured.

The Bulgarian copper bromide vapor laser has been used for fifty years in medicine, astronomy, the study of the atmosphere and the sea, the creator of the invention, academic Nikola Sabotinov, said in a BTA interview.

Sabotinov specialized in radiophysics and electronics at Sofia University and has worked in the field of quantum radiophysics, and more specifically in the physics of metal vapor lasers. From 2008 to 2012 he was president of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Sabotinov’s idea to create a low-temperature copper laser in Bulgaria was realized in 1974, when under his leadership at the Institute of Solid State Physics a copper bromide vapor laser was put into use, which was recognized as the invention of the year in 1979.

To improve its properties, a number of theoretical and experimental studies were carried out and the effect of hydrogen was discovered. The CuBr laser is patented in Bulgaria, France, the US, Great Britain, Germany, Japan and Australia. The scientific results obtained are highly appreciated by the international scientific community and have found a place in world sciences and in university education programs, such as Oxford University in Great Britain and Ibaraki University in Japan, Sabotinov explains.

The CuBr laser started commercial development in Bulgaria. Today it is produced by the Bulgarian company Pulselight and by Norseld in Australia, and by Bison in the Republic of Korea. It is used in medicine, in the precision materials processing industry, in laser location and navigation, for laser displays, for seawater research and for other research.

The CuBr laser is not only an example of good innovation practice, but also a ray of hope, especially among young people, that ideas can become reality in Bulgaria, and inventions can be made at the level of highly developed countries in science and technology countries. , ISSP noted at BAS.

BTA/GNA

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