UltraFlux Custom
Multi TW Few cycle OPCPA systems
Custom designed OPCPA based laser system, providing ~15 terawatts of output power at 1 KHz repetition rate and 8 fs pulse duration. This laser system has been designed and built for ELI-ALPS facilities located in Szeged, Hungary
Features
- Driven by low maintenance cost diode-pumped and industry-tested Yb:KGW and Nd:YAG lasers running at 1 kHz repetition rate
- 120 W average power combined with > 15 TW peak power, along with sub-250 mrad carrier-envelope phase stability (CEP) and sub-8 fs pulse duration at a center wavelength of 900 nm
- Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) – free, passively CEP stabilized pulses have excellent stability of output parameters over 24 hours of continuous operation
- Despite its unique set of specifications, it is still a table-top system
- A sophisticated self-diagnostic system allows hands-free operation and output specification stability all day long without operator intervention
Applications
- Fundamental frontier particle physics research
- Nuclear Photonics
- High harmonic generation
- Attosecond pulse generation
- Wake field particle acceleration
- X-ray generation
Description
Since their invention, lasers have been extremely effective to improve our understanding of the molecular and atomic structure of matter and the associated dynamical events. However, laser pulse energy was not enough to probe deeper – into nucleons and their components the quarks or to dissociate the vacuum. A new type of large-scale laser infrastructure specifically designed to produce the highest peak power and focused intensity was established by the European Community: the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI). ELI was designed to be the first exawatt class laser facility, equivalent to 1000 times the National Ignition Facility (NIF) power. Producing kJ of power over 10 fs, ELI will afford wide benefits to society ranging from improvement of oncology treatment, medical and biomedical imaging, fast electronics and our understanding of aging nuclear reactor materials to development of new methods of nuclear waste processing.
The facility will be based on four sites. Three of them are implemented in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.
ELI-ALPS based in Szeged (Hungary), one of the three pillars of the Extreme Light Infrastructure, will further deepen knowledge in fundamental physics by providing high repetition rate intense light pulses on the attosecond timescale. Current technological limitations will be overcome by use of novel concepts. The main technological backbone of ELI-ALPS will be optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) of few-cycle to sub-cycle laser pulses.
SYLOS 2A laser system providing ~5 terawatts of output power at 1 kHz repetition rate and delivering 7 fs or shorter pulses.
It was designed and built for Extreme Light Infrastructure – Attosecond Light Pulse Source facilities (ELI-ALPS) located in Szeged, Hungary.
Unique OPCPA based laser system, providing ~15 terawatts of output power at 1 kHz repetition rate and an 8 fs pulse duration.
Has been designed and built for ELI-ALPS facilities located in Szeged, Hungary.
Pumped by dedicated all-solid-state short-pulse (ps-scale) sources and their (low-order) harmonics, this approach will be competitive with conventional (Ti:Sapphire laser based) femtosecond technology in terms of pumping efficiency and will dramatically outperform previous technologies in terms of average power, contrast, bandwidth, and – as a consequence – degree of control of the generated radiation. The ELI-ALPS laser architecture will consist of three main laser beamlines, operating at different regimes of repetition rates and peak powers: High Repetition Rate (HR): 100 kHz, > 5 mJ, ≤ 6 fs, Single Cycle (SYLOS): 1 kHz, > 120 mJ, ≤ 8 fs, High Field (HF): 10 Hz, 34 J, ≤ 17 fs.
The Single Cycle Laser SYLOS laser system is based on OPCPA (Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplification) technology, developed at Vilnius university.
Unlike other TW-level systems available in the market that operate in a single-shot or low repetition rate mode, SYLOS 3 will run at a 1 kHz repetition rate. With this novel approach, researchers will be able to collect significantly more data and transition from fundamental to applied science experiments. Such systems enable the development of promising future technologies, such as laser-based particle accelerators.
ELI-ALPS laser system is employed in a wide range of experiments, such as generating coherent X-ray radiation through gas, electron acceleration and surface higher-order harmonic generation. The generation of isolated attosecond pulses for attosecond metrology is another important application. These kinds of experiments demand high stability of operation with high uptime, so the stability and precision of the whole system are one of researchers top priorities.
Due to the exceptionally large XUV/X-ray energy, this system opens the door to nonlinear XUV and X-ray science, as well as 4D imaging and industrial, biological, and medical applications.
To ensure reliability and cutting-edge parameters, the system has been built from scratch by employing industry-tested technologies and components. All design and manufacturing activities have been carried out in facilities in Vilnius. Thus, despite its complexity, the system ensures exceptional stability and reliability. SYLOS 3 delivers approximately 120 mJ pulses with a CEP (Carrier-Envelope Phase) stability of less than 250 mrad and pulse energy stability of less than 1%.
SYLOS series laser systems are outstanding outcome of close cooperation between researchers and enggineers. As result the Szeged facility stands out among institutes producing the highest intensity laser pulses in the world at a 1 kHz pulse repetition rate.
SYLOS 3 OPCPA based laser system.
Has been designed and built for ELI-ALPS facilities located in Szeged, Hungary.
Specifications
| Model | UltraFlux FF401k-F8-CEP | UltraFlux FF1201k-F8-CEP |
|---|---|---|
| Main specifications 1) | ||
| Output energy | 40 mJ | 120 mJ |
| Peak pulse power | > 5 TW | > 15 TW |
| Pulse repetition rate | 1 kHz | 1 kHz |
| Wavelength 2) | 900 nm | 900 nm |
| Pulse duration | ≤ 8 fs (≤ 3 cycles) | ≤ 8 fs (≤ 3 cycles) |
| Pulse energy stability 3) | ≤ 1 % | ≤ 1 % |
| Long-term power drift 4) | ± 1.5 % | ± 1.5 % |
| CEP stability | ≤ 250 mrad | ≤ 250 mrad |
| Beam spatial profile | Super-Gaussian 5) | Super-Gaussian 5) |
| Beam diameter | ~ 50 mm | ~ 100 mm |
| Beam pointing stability 6) | ≤ 20 µrad | ≤ 20 µrad |
| Strehl ratio 7) | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Temporal contrast 8) | ||
| APFC (within ± 50 ps) | 1010 : 1 | 1010 : 1 |
| Pre-pulse (≤ 50 ps) | 1010 : 1 | 1010 : 1 |
| Post-Pulse (>50 ps) | 108 : 1 | 108 : 1 |
| Physical characteristics 9) | ||
| Laser head size (W×L×H mm) | 9000 × 5000 × 1200 | 9000 × 9000 × 1200 |
| Umbilical length | up to 10 m | up to 8 m |
| Operating requirements 16) | ||
| Electrical power | 208, 380 or 400 V AC, three-phase, 50/60 Hz 11) | 208, 380 or 400 V AC, three-phase, 50/60 Hz 11) |
| Power consumption 12) | ≤ 40 kVA | ≤ 60 kVA |
| Water supply | ≤ 30 l/min, 2 Bar, max 15 °C | ≤ 40 l/min, 2 Bar, max 15 °C |
| Operating ambient temperature | 22 ± 2 °C | 22 ± 2 °C |
| Storage ambient temperature | 15 – 35 °C | 15 – 35 °C |
| Relative humidity (non-condensing) | ≤ 80 % | ≤ 80 % |
| Cleanness of the room | ISO Class 7 | ISO Class 7 |
| Model | UltraFlux FF401k-F8-CEP | UltraFlux FF1201k-F8-CEP |
|---|
- Due to continuous improvement, all specifications are subject to change without notice. The parameters marked ‘typical’ are indications of typical performance and will vary with each unit we manufacture. Presented parameters can be customized to meet customer‘s requirements.
- Central wavelength is calculated as the power-weighted mean frequency from measured spectrum in frequency domain.
- Under stable environmental conditions, normalized to average pulse energy (RMS, averaged from 30 s).
- Measured over 8 hours period after 30 min warm-up when ambient temperature variation is less than ±2 °C.
- Super-Gaussian spatial mode of 6-11th order in near field.
- Beam pointing stability is evaluated as movement of the beam centroid in the focal plane of a focusing element (RMS, averaged from 30 s).
- Strehl ratio of > 0.7 is achieved with deformable mirror option.
- Pulse contrast is only limited by amplified parametric fluorescence (APFC) in the temporal range of ~90 ps which covers OPCPA pump pulse duration and is better than 106 : 1. APFC contrast depends on OPCPA saturation level. Our OPCPA systems are ASE-free and pulse contrast value in nanosecond range is limited only by measurement device capabilities (third-order autocorrelator). There are no pre-pulses generated in the system and post-pulses are eliminated by using wedged transmission optics.
- System sizes are preliminary and depend on customer lab layout and additional options purchased.
- The laser and auxiliary units must be settled in such a place void of dust and aerosols. It is advisable to operate the laser in air conditioned room, provided that the laser is placed at a distance from air conditioning outlets. The laser should be positioned on a solid worktable. Access from one side should be ensured.
- Voltage fluctuations allowed are +10 % / -15 % from nominal value.
- Required current rating can be calculated by dividing power rating by mains voltage. Power rating is given in apparent power (kVA) for systems with flash lamp power supplies and in real power (kW) for systems without flash lamp power supplies where reactive power is neglectable.
Ordering information of UltraFlux Custom lasers.
