On November 3, in Xi'an, the "Advanced Attosecond Laser Facility (Xi'an Section)" National Major Science and Technology Infrastructure (hereinafter referred to as the "Facility") was officially launched. The facility is undertaken by the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the construction period is 5 years.

Attosecond is the shortest time unit that humans have mastered so far (1 attosecond=10^-18 seconds). With the help of attosecond lasers, the internal electron movement of molecules that is difficult to observe with femtosecond (10^-15 seconds) lasers can be detected. The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to scientists in the field of attosecond lasers. As a powerful tool for studying electron dynamics, attosecond lasers will strongly promote original innovation in basic research and show broad prospects in many fields. Although the three Nobel Prize winners have developed experimental methods for the generation and measurement of attosecond light pulses, the performance and index parameters of the attosecond light sources currently produced in the laboratory are low, which cannot support its major original innovation breakthroughs in the application field. The advanced attosecond laser facility can solve the above bottleneck problems.

The facility will be the most advanced comprehensive ultrafast electron dynamics research facility with comprehensive application terminal coverage, featuring attosecond time resolution and high spatiotemporal coherence. After completion, it will use attosecond lasers, combined with their ultrashort pulse width and high spatial resolution, through time-resolved spectroscopy, electron energy spectrum measurement and imaging and other technical means, to face a series of major scientific problems in the field of basic research, including high-speed optoelectronic devices, superconducting materials, photovoltaic power generation, photosynthesis and other processes. Explore the deep-level ultrafast dynamics process.

The facility can be built in Xi'an with the strong support of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and Government, and is also listed as the core construction content of the Xi'an Regional Science and Technology Innovation Center. As a "necessary condition" for breakthroughs in the forefront of photonics science and technology and a "power source" for the sustainable development of many strategic emerging industries, the facility will play a powerful siphoning, leveraging and derivative role, and constantly explore the full-chain innovation model of "frontier basic research-applied basic research-industrial technology research-industrial transformation", and promote Shaanxi to become a gathering place for top scientific and technological innovation talents in the field of photonics, a gathering place for scientific and technological innovation resources, and a source of original innovation. It will accelerate the cultivation of new quality productivity, better support the high-quality development of the national and regional economy and society, and make greater contributions to the early building of a strong country in science and technology and the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.