Facilities

The Center for High Energy Density Science (CHEDS) studies the interaction of ultra-intense laser light with matter.

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Texas Petawatt

The Texas Petawatt Laser Facility conducts fundamental research into exotic states of matter with high energy densities (temperatures and pressures) and ultra-high electromagnetic fields. The Facility is part of the Center for High Energy Density Science and supports user access through LaserNetUS.

 

The Texas Petawatt Laser is a 140 J, 140 fs laser based on Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification (OPCPA) followed by power amplification in two types of Neodymium-doped glass. The laser fires single shot into either of two target chambers: A fast focus f/3 target chamber primarily used for solid targets (TC1), and a long focus f/40 target chamber primarily used for gas targets (TC2).

 

The laser system is housed in a 1,500 ft2 cleanroom, which we call the Laser Bay. Inside the cleanroom, most of the laser is installed on a 34-foot-long optical table system. Timing electronics, camera monitors, and control computers are mounted on a 19-inch rack unit. Additionally, a smaller Class 100 cleanroom is situated at the back of the lab. This secondary cleanroom is used for optical assembly and other work requiring a clean environment. A second laser table is located opposite the Petawatt Laser. This table houses a vacuum chamber and beam tube that extends into the target area. Inside the chamber is a mirror used to focus light onto the target.

 

For more information, visit the Texas Petawatt website or the LaserNetUS member page.

 

 

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GHOST Laser

The GHOST laser is a 67 TW OPCPA/Nd:glass laser system, delivering 10 J of laser energy in a 150 fs pulse with a center wavelength of 1057 nm. It uses a chirped pulse and an optical parametric amplification (OPA) frontend to broaden the spectral bandwidth to 30 nm before further amplification in a combination of silicate and phosphate glass laser gain media. The mixed glass architecture results in a broader spectral bandwidth and shorter pulse duration than a single type of glass. Focused with an f/3 optic, the GHOST laser can achieve intensities of up to 10^20 W/cm^2 in single shot mode or with a repetition rate of one shot per minute.

 


 

ut3

U. Texas Two-Color Terawatt (UT3) Laser Laboratory

This advanced facility features a 30 TW, 30 fs, 800 nm ultrahigh contrast Ti:Sapphire laser system, produced by Thales Laser and installed in 2007, along with a custom-built, temporally synchronized 3 TW, 60 fs, 870 nm chirped pulse Raman Amplifier subsystem. The equipment is located in a 1,200 sq. ft. class 100,000 clean room in Robert Lee Moore (RLM) Hall 2.408 on the University of Texas campus.

For more information, view the official UT3 website.