Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
University of Alberta
$149,733.00
10 Terawatt laser facility
EF 2008-09
Résumé
A leading-edge 10 Terawatt laser system will be built which will be one of the first multi-terawatt class laser in the world using newly emerging ceramic laser host materials and efficient high power diode pump technologies. The past decade has witnessed the development of two important new laser technologies. The first is relatively inexpensive, high efficiency, highly doped ceramic laser media such as the Ytterbium (Yb) doped ceramic disks (YAG, Y2O3, Sc2O3, Lu2O3) which are scalable from centimetre to metre sizes. The second is the development of long lifetime, high brightness laser pump diodes with efficiencies exceeding 67%. When pumped with such high efficiency laser diodes these ceramic disk lasers can potentially support output energy fluences of up to 5 joules per square centimetre for nanosecond pulses at a total wall plug efficiency of 10 to 20% for systems from the 1J to 1kJ per pulse suitable for industrial to laser fusion applications. The system proposed here will be the first demonstration of this new technology together with the chirped pulse amplification technique for the generation of compact, robust and efficient terawatt class laser systems capable of being used not only for scientific investigations but also in a number of forefront application areas. These emerging areas include laser driven electron acceleration to multi-GeV energies, MeV proton beam generation for treatment of cancer tumors, compact laser based radioisotope sources for PET scanners and medical applications and ignition of fusion reactions in a compressed fuel pellet for fast-ignition laser fusion. We are witnessing the emergence of new concepts for compact high energy particle sources and for fast ignition fusion potentially reducing the scale size of future accelerator facilities and laser fusion reactors by a factor of ten. It is essential that Canada maintains a leadership role in these developments and that we become a leader in developing these new laser technologies and applications.
Programme
Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
Bénéficiaire
Emplacement
Alberta, Canada
Type de bénéficiaire
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
Tel que publié
Application id
374752-2009
Name nom
Fedosejevs, Robert
Department département
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Organization id
9
Institution établissement
University of Alberta
Province en
Alberta
Province fr
Alberta
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2008
Competition year année de concours
2009
Award amount
149733
Program id
EQPEQ
Program nane en
Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
Program name fr
Outils et instruments de recherche - catégorie 1 (<150 000$)
Group en
Discovery grants programs
Group fr
Programmes de subventions à la découverte
Committee code
29
Committee name en
General Physics
Committee name fr
Physique générale
Area of application code
302
Area of application group en
Energy resources
Area of application group fr
Ressources d'énergie
Area of application en
Nuclear energy
Area of application fr
Énergie nucléaire
Research subject code
3100
Research subject group en
Physics
Research subject group fr
Physique
Research subject en
Physics
Research subject fr
Physique
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
10 Terawatt laser facility
Keyword
NA
Application summary
A leading-edge 10 Terawatt laser system will be built which will be one of the first multi-terawatt class laser in the world using newly emerging ceramic laser host materials and efficient high power diode pump technologies. The past decade has witnessed the development of two important new laser technologies. The first is relatively inexpensive, high efficiency, highly doped ceramic laser media such as the Ytterbium (Yb) doped ceramic disks (YAG, Y2O3, Sc2O3, Lu2O3) which are scalable from centimetre to metre sizes. The second is the development of long lifetime, high brightness laser pump diodes with efficiencies exceeding 67%. When pumped with such high efficiency laser diodes these ceramic disk lasers can potentially support output energy fluences of up to 5 joules per square centimetre for nanosecond pulses at a total wall plug efficiency of 10 to 20% for systems from the 1J to 1kJ per pulse suitable for industrial to laser fusion applications. The system proposed here will be the first demonstration of this new technology together with the chirped pulse amplification technique for the generation of compact, robust and efficient terawatt class laser systems capable of being used not only for scientific investigations but also in a number of forefront application areas. These emerging areas include laser driven electron acceleration to multi-GeV energies, MeV proton beam generation for treatment of cancer tumors, compact laser based radioisotope sources for PET scanners and medical applications and ignition of fusion reactions in a compressed fuel pellet for fast-ignition laser fusion. We are witnessing the emergence of new concepts for compact high energy particle sources and for fast ignition fusion potentially reducing the scale size of future accelerator facilities and laser fusion reactors by a factor of ten. It is essential that Canada maintains a leadership role in these developments and that we become a leader in developing these new laser technologies and applications.
