Welding of ceramics is a key missing component in modern manufacturing. Current methods cannot join ceramics in proximity to temperature-sensitive materials like polymers and electronic components. We introduce an ultrafast pulsed laser welding approach that relies on focusing light on interfaces to ensure an optical interaction volume in ceramics to stimulate nonlinear absorption processes, causing localized melting rather than ablation. The key is the interplay between linear and nonlinear optical properties and laser energy–material coupling. The welded ceramic assemblies hold high vacuum and have shear strengths comparable to metal-to-ceramic diffusion bonds. Laser welding can make ceramics integral components in devices for harsh environments as well as in optoelectronic and/or electronic packages needing visible-radio frequency transparency.

Avocado (Persea americana) and papaya (Carica papaya) are tropical fruits with high international demand. However, these commercially important crops are affected by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, which causes anthracnose and results in significant economic losses. The antifungal activity of metal oxide nanomaterials (zinc oxide (ZnO), magnesium oxide (MgO), and ZnO:MgO and ZnO:Mg(OH)2 composites) prepared under different conditions of synthesis was evaluated against strains of C. gloeosporioides obtained from papaya and avocado. All nanoparticles (NPs) at the tested concentrations significantly inhibited the germination of conidia and caused structural damage to the fungal cells. According to the radial growth test, the fungal strain obtained from avocado was more susceptible to the NPs than the strain obtained from papaya. The effect of the tested NPs on the fungal strains confirmed that these NPs could be used as strong antifungal agents against C. gloeosporioides to control anthracnose in tropical fruits.

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The degree and depth of curing due to photopolymerization in a commercial dental resin have been studied using photothermal radiometry. The sample consisted of a thick layer of resin on which a thin metallic gold layer was deposited, thus guaranteeing full opacity. Purely thermal-wave inverse problem techniques without the interference of optical profiles were used. Thermal depth profiles were obtained by heating the gold coating with a modulated laser beam and by performing a frequency scan. Prior to each frequency scan, photopolymerization was induced using a high power blue light emitted diode ͑LED͒. Due to the highly light dispersive nature of dental resins, the polymerization process depends strongly on optical absorption of the blue light, thereby inducing a depth dependent thermal diffusivity profile in the sample. A robust depth profilometric method for reconstructing the thermal diffusivity depth dependence on degree and depth of polymerization has been developed. The thermal diffusivity depth profile was linked to the polymerization kinetics.