The CLF have a strong and impressive background in providing solutions to industry and making a positive difference to society. Through CALTA we are building on this platform and are able to reach out even further than before. Through the experience of many years working on laser systems we have found solutions to a host of technical challenges. We are keen to engage with industry to enable these technologies to be applied within a wider remit, providing solutions to a broad spectrum of industrial sectors.

Beam stabilisation system

With many complex devices required to be kept simultaneously aligned, modern laser systems present a significant challenge for engineers. Our stabilisation system is designed to handle multiple interacting control demands. The most obvious application is to stabilising very large laser systems but other complex equipment with multiple controls can also benefit from this technology.

Safety interlock system

With many areas requiring controlled access and a variety of hazards in addition to the high-power laser light, our engineers were faced with the problem of controlling access to, and safe operation of, our extremely powerful lasers. They have produced a simple, elegant system with a unified interface which works across all our laser systems. While the most obvious application is to other major laser systems, any facility requiring controlled access with multiple points of entry can benefit from this technology.

Large scale motion control

With a multitude of motorised systems to control including beam shutters, mirror mounts and so on, we faced the problem of interfacing multiple manufacturer’s interfaces to our own unified system. We have developed a “universal” motor controller and an intuitive user interface, to allow simple control of a large number of motorised functions across different platforms. This could readily be applied in other major facilities but also in any setting where multiple motorised systems need to be managed.

Other technologies

We have developed advanced adaptive optics systems to keep our laser beams stable as thermal gradients in the optics and the air tend to distort them. In order to provide Chirped-Pulse Amplification (CPA) with high-power lasers, we have developed diffraction gratings capable of withstanding very high energy pulses. We are working to refine optical parametric amplifiers which use non-linear crystals to add pump energy to a seed laser, and we are working on beam combination to allow two laser beams to be added coherently to act a single laser of double the power.