Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt win the Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications of the European Physical Society

The Division of Quantum Electronics and Optics of the European Physical Society is delighted to announce that the 2024 laureates of the prestigious Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications are Prof. Jens Limpert (Friedrich Schiller University and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering, Jena, Germany) and Dr. Jan Rothhardt (Helmholtz Institute Jena, Germany). The prize is awarded to Prof. Limpert and Dr. Rothhardt in recognition of their pioneering research “for the development of compact high-power coherent extreme-ultraviolet sources and material-specific nanoscale extreme-ultraviolet imaging.” . The prize will be presented on August 27, 2024 during the 11th EPS-QEOD EUROPHOTON conferenece in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The 2024 Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications is awarded to Professor Jens Limpert and Dr Jan Rothhardt from Jena, Germany. In close collaboration, Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt have developed new insights and technologies for the realisation of benchtop extreme ultraviolet sources with synchrotron-like brilliance. By applying high-power femtosecond fibre laser systems and the concept of coherent combination of multiple fibre amplifiers, Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt have invented high-harmonic sources with high conversion efficiency, where the photon flux exceeds the state of the art by several orders of magnitude. Jan Rothhardt and Jens Limpert have used their invention to explore new approaches to nanoscale imaging and wavefront sensing. For example, their extreme ultraviolet microscopy has enabled the first mapping of the chemical composition of semiconductor samples at the nanoscale. Their work opens up untapped potential in nanoscience and materials science, for example in the development of efficient nanoelectronics, energy and data storage devices, and in biological imaging, with applications ranging from the detection of cancer cells to the study of the interaction of pathogens, drugs or nanoparticles with biological cells. The committee particularly appreciated the collaborative spirit and innovative approaches to research that have led Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt to these remarkable achievements.

Jens Limpert is Professor of Physics at Friedrich Schiller University and Head of the Fibre Technology Centre at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Finemechanics in Jena, Germany. He earned his doctorate in physics from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in 2003 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bordeaux, France. Since 2005, he has been leading research activities on high-power laser sources in Jena. He has received three (Starting, Consolidator and Advanced) grants from the European Research Council ERC and numerous distinctions such as the Lothar Späth Award in 2019.

Jan Rothhardt is a research group leader at the Helmholtz Institute Jena and a lecturer at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. Jan Rothhardt received his doctorate in physics from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in 2010. After a post-doctoral period at the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique in Saclay, France, he returned to Jena and held several leading positions before becoming a research group leader at the Helmholtz Institute. Jan Rothhardt's research has been recognised by several awards, including the 2020 Röntgen Prize.

Jens Limpert and Jan Rothhardt now receive the 2024 Prize for Research in Laser Science and Applications , a major prize awarded on behalf of the European Physical Society by its Quantum Electronics & Optics Division (QEOD). The prize is awarded every two years in recognition of recent work by one or more individuals (not more than three) for scientific excellence in the field of laser science and applications, broadly defined.  Relevant topics include laser source development, power scaling concepts, pump source development, nonlinear optics, ultrafast sources, materials science, spectroscopic and characterisation techniques, and applications both in optics and photonics and in other fields.

Prof. Jens Limpert (left) and Dr. Jan Rothhardt (right) - image credit: Fraunhofer IOF Jena