Prague-based ELI Beamlines focuses on research into developing short-pulse secondary sources of radiation and particles. To create amazingly short pulses and to amplify them to the multi-joule and kilojoule level for achieving petawatt and multi-petawatt power, ELI Beamlines uses chirped-pulse amplification. The latest advancement has been the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS), which was designed and built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California in close cooperation with ELI Beamlines. HAPLS is the first diode-pumped and highest average power petawatt system (300 W, 10 Hz repetition rate) ever built.

Achieving the extreme high-power, short-pulse features of HAPLS required rigorous design validation and highly nuanced beam propagation capabilities. Using OpticStudio, the ELI Beamlines team modeled the phase-to-amplitude modulations during the beam propagation to the experimental chambers, where the beam is focused after up to 100 meters of propagation with off-axis parabolas. From there, ELI Beamlines used OpticStudio to assess intensity modulations, as well as to predict acceptable phase errors as the new system was commissioned.

Find out how Zemax OpticStudio optical design software helped Prague-based ELI Beamlines save years of project time and millions of euros in budget developing the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS). Read the success story now!

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