New applications may help for Y:From Rare Earth Digest 2011;Yet...

New applications may help for Y:

From Rare Earth Digest 2011;

Yet another new use for magical rare earth elements is on the way. Automakers may soon replace 150-year old spark plugs with laser igniters based on rare earth element yttrium. While rare earth elements are used for electric and hybrid vehicles, it will take some time to replace fossil fuel transportation power with electric or hydrogen-based alternatives. This new igniter technology promises cleaner, more efficient, and more economical combustion vehicles, including use in hybrids.
Researchers from Japan will describe the first multi-beam laser system small enough to screw into an engine’s cylinder head at this May’s Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics in Baltimore. The laser system can be produced at low cost, according to one of the authors. The team built its laser from rare earth yttrium with aluminum-gallium segments, one doped with rare earth neodymium, the other with chromium. They bonded the two sections together to form a powerful laser that ignites fuel in the combustion chamber more efficiently.