Facilities

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.

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.