The main component of this Research Infrastructure is a multipetawatt laser, based on the Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA), qui a valu à Gérard MOUROU le prix Nobel de physique en 2018. It made up:
• An OPCPA front-end (Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification) using advanced technology and barium beta-borate (BBO) to generate laser pulses with high spectral bandwidth and high contrast. The non-colinear architecture [D. Papadopoulos et al., Optics Lett. 42, 3530 (2017)] implements an original XPW device (crossed-polarized-wave) original [L. Ramirez et al., J.O.S.A. B 30, 2607 (2013)]. It reliably delivers high quality pulses, with a contrast of more than 1012 and a bandwidth compatible with a duration less than 10fs;
• An Offner stretcher;
• A 4 stages of Titanium Sapphire allowing to deliver nano-second pulses with an energy up to 330 Joules at a rate of 1 shot per minute.
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All laser diagnostics in amplification output- © Barande Jérémy /EP. -
Afocal 05 – © Barande Jérémy /EP.
At the output amplification, a separation system allow to deliver a set of laser beams, superposable on the same focal spot and synchronizables, with a maximum energy on target of 265 J:
• An ultra-intense main laser beam “F1” delivering pulses of 18fs with a maximum energy of 180J, i.e. a 10PW peak power;
• An intense secondary laser beam “F2”, delivering pulses of 18fs with a maximum energy of 180J, i.e. a 1PW peak power;
• A “creation” laser beam “F3”, delivering nano-second pulses with a maximum energy of 250J;
• A probe laser beam “F4”, delivering pulses of 20fs with a maximum energy of 250mJ (i.e. 10 TW).
Finally, before beams’ distribution in experimental area, a complet set of laser diagnostics allows to know the main characteristics of the beam at the time of the shooting (energy, pulse duration, spectrum, spatial phase, contrast).