In this method for rendering aerial and volumetric graphics, a high-intensity laser excites physical matter to emit light at an arbitrary 3D position. The technique enables practical applications, because plasma induced by a femtosecond laser is quieter and safer than that generated by a nanosecond laser.

The system was tested with three laser sources: 30-fs and 100-fs lasers that project up to 1,000 pulses per second at an energy up to 7 mJ per pulse, and a 269-fs laser which projects up to 200,000 pulses per second at an energy up to 50 ¹J per pulse. The spatiotemporal resolution of volumetric displays implemented with these laser source, is 1,000 and 200,000 dots per second.