The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project in the Czech Republic has awarded its first major contract to STFC’s new Centre for Advanced Laser Technology and Applications (CALTA). ELI is a multi million euro project being carried out in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania to create a world class laser capability. The £2.2M contract awarded to CALTA is for a cutting-edge laser amplifier that can supply bursts of laser energy with power equivalent to that of a full-sized power station, for a brief instant, ten times every second. On Friday 29 June 2012 the Director of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic, Prof Jan Ridky, visited STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to seal the contract.
The supply of a high power, high repetition rate laser system amplifier is crucial in helping ELI achieve its ambitious aim of becoming a world-leading facility in the development and applications of lasers for advanced science. The laser will operate at ten times a second (ten Hertz) producing ten Joules per pulse. Later in their development programme, ELI is looking to produce a laser operating at a similar repetition rate but ten times this energy (100 Joules). ELI will use this to amplify ultrashort pulses of laser energy to power levels above 1 Petawatt, the instantaneous equivalent of 2,000 power stations per pulse. 100 Joules is currently only possible using large systems such as the Vulcan laser in the Central Laser Facility at the STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, with only one shot every 20 minutes maximum. The CALTA technology is demonstrably scalable to this level, and beyond.
CALTA capitalises on the advanced technology developed in the STFC’s Central Laser Facility. Its mission is develop a next generation laser technology platform for use in both industry and existing international large scale laser infrastructures. The laser platform will benefit new build laser infrastructure projects, including ELI, and will drive new laser-based applications in industry, including advanced material treatments and energy.
The amplifying head of the DiPOLE laser. Special ceramic materials inside the head allow light to be amplified to the power of a power station for brief instants of time, ten times every second.(Credit: STFC)
Professor Jan Ridky said: “It is a great pleasure for me that I could today seal the contract between the STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and the Institute of Physics (IoP) of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, which is the beneficiary of structural funds to build ELI Beamlines pillar in the Czech Republic. Laser scientists from RAL were extremely supportive during the Preparation Phase of ELI that decided one of the pillars of ELI will be sited into the Czech Republic. Their expertise, their accomplishments in the field of high energy, high repetition rate lasers was the reason why the first contract for a laser development for ELI Beamlines was awarded to the UK laboratory. I very much look forward also to the future prospective extension of the collaboration between Central Laser Facility and IoP”.
Science and Universities Minister David Willetts said: "This contract is excellent news for the Science and Technology Facilities Council and demonstrates the confidence placed in the UK's world-leading research facilities like the Central Laser Facility. It has the potential to drive improvements in laser science which in turn would benefit researchers and industry across Europe."
The impact of ELI will be immense and have three distinct benefits:
- Increasing the frequency of the laser means users can gather more data in shorter periods of time. Currently lasers with the intensity of Vulcan fire every twenty minutes whereas ELI aims to produce a system that operates at 10 times a second.
- A laser operating with such intensity and frequency would have significant advantages for new and novel applications development and industrial processes.
- The production of X-rays, gamma rays and other energetic particles through such intense laser light opens up the possibility of performing pioneering science on a much smaller and therefore cost-effective scale than is currently possible.
The contract is the first major success for CALTA.
Professor John Collier, the Centre’s director said “This contract gives us an excellent opportunity to build on STFC’s world class laser technology, and cements our decision to set up CALTA as a focus for delivering impact from STFC’s laser science. With first deliverables due in under three months, the project team at CALTA, is already working hard to ensure that we make the most of this chance to apply our technology to this major European project, help advance European laser science and benefit the UK economy.”
The system to be supplied builds on the world-leading ‘DiPOLE’ laser development. DiPOLE is an element in the UK’s ambitions to play a lead role in laser-driven fusion, which could provide a sustainable, carbon-free energy source for the future.
Notes to editors
Contact
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Images
Images of the visit by Professor Jan Ridky and of the amplifying head of the DIPOLE laser are available. Please contact the Press Office for more details.
Further Information
The Central Laser Facility (CLF) is a partnership between its staff and the large number of members of UK and European universities who use the specialised laser equipment provided to carry out a broad range of experiments in physics, chemistry and biology. We hope these web pages can convey some of the excitement and achievement of this community.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security.
The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar.
STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including:
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- overseas; telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii
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