ELI-NP’s High Power Laser System (HPLS) was built and installed by Thales LAS France, featuring twin beamlines capable of delivering nominal peak powers of 100 TW, 1 PW or 10 PW to our different experimental areas. This dual-arm architecture allows us to simultaneously run two separate experiments in parallel, each with its own specific power requirements. These high power levels are achieved starting from a common optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) front end, followed by chirped-pulse power amplifiers based on state-of-the-art Ti:Sa crystals, and ultimately dedicated pulse compressors for each beamline. For a more detailed description of the HPLS, please refer to the following publication: High-energy hybrid femtosecond laser system demonstrating 2 × 10 PW capability

General parameters

• The energy can be changed in incremental (i.e. not continuous) steps that should be discussed with the laser team beforehand, in order to be optimized specifically for each User experiment;
• Low energy pulses for alignment can also be requested.

Pulse duration

• The pulse duration can be optimized using a Dazzler AOPDF for each particular experiment and specific target interaction. Pulses can also be stretched at the request of the Users to about 1 ps, as positive and negative chirp.

Wavefront

• The wavefront can be optimized together with the Users to best fit their specific experimental goals.

Laser diagnostics

• Beam profile - near-field and far-field, measured on shot at the diagnostics bench;

Experimental Areas

ELI-NP's Experimental Areas were designed with particular experiments in mind, for which the beam path, arrangement of the vacuum chambers, and radioprotection measures were individually optimized. In practice, many types of studies can be performed in each Experimental Area and their associated interaction chambers, so long as they do not raise insurmountable technical and radioprotection issues, as flagged by our Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

10 PW beams

• E1: Nuclear physics experiments performed using solid targets; production of high-flux (ideally monoenergetic) ion and neutron beams, as well as intense X-ray flares.
• E6: QED and nuclear physics experiments performed using gas targets; production of GeV electrons at high intensity for radiation reaction studies.
• E7: Combined laser and gamma radiation experiments; production and photoexcitation of isomers; radiation reactions; pair production in the extremely nonlinear regime; vacuum birefringence.

1 PW beams

• E5: Applied experiments; medical research; production of MeV ions; preliminary studies for the 10 PW system using gas and solid targets.
• E7: Combined laser and gamma radiation experiments; production and photoexcitation of isomers; radiation reactions.

100 TW beams

• E4: Fundamental physics; searching for weakly coupling sub-eV dark matter; electron acceleration using gas targets; medical and material science applications.

Target Laboratory

Optics Laboratory

Laser Experiments Diagnostics Laboratory

Biophysics and Biomedical Applications

Mechanical and Electrical Support

The Technical Division of ELI-NP offers the following support for the preparation and performance of User experiments at our facility:

• Help when handling the User equipment up to its designated installation site, according to the general rules and regulations in force at ELI-NP;
• Connect the User equipment to the ELI-NP utilities grid, based on documentation provided by the Users;
• In case of equipment failure and at the request of the Users, provide assistance (within the competences of our technical staff), in order to ensure uninterrupted operation;
• Participate in the experiment preparation meetings with the Users before the start of the beamtime, so as to better understand their needs for handling, installing, and connecting other equipment required by the Users to the ELI-NP utilities grid;

The access of User equipment to the ELI-NP site is subject to the facility's access regulations in force.