Femtosecond laser system UltraFlux Custom

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UltraFlux Custom is a multi-terawatt, few-cycle OPCPA (Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplification) laser system, custom-designed to deliver approximately 15 terawatts of output power at a 1 kHz repetition rate and 8 fs pulse duration. This advanced laser system was specifically developed for the ELI-ALPS facility in Szeged, Hungary, and is based on industry-tested Yb:KGW and Nd:YAG lasers.

Features

• Driven by low maintenance cost diode-pumped and industry-tested Yb:KGW and Nd:YAG lasers running at 1 kHz repetition rate
• 120 W average power combined with >15 TW peak power, sub-250 mrad carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stability, and sub-8 fs pulse duration at a center wavelength of 900 nm
• Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE)–free, passively CEP stabilized pulses with excellent output parameter stability over 24 hours of continuous operation
• Table-top system despite its unique set of specifications
• Sophisticated self-diagnostic system for hands-free operation and stable output specifications all day long without operator intervention

Applications

• Fundamental frontier particle physics research
• Nuclear Photonics
• High harmonic generation
• Attosecond pulse generation
• Wake field particle acceleration
• X-ray generation

Description
Lasers have revolutionized the understanding of molecular and atomic structures, but the UltraFlux Custom system pushes the boundaries further by enabling research into nucleons, quarks, and vacuum dissociation. The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) was established to provide exawatt-class laser facilities, with ELI-ALPS in Hungary focusing on high-repetition-rate, intense light pulses on the attosecond timescale. The backbone of ELI-ALPS is OPCPA technology, enabling few-cycle to sub-cycle laser pulses. The SYLOS 3 system, part of UltraFlux Custom, operates at 1 kHz, allowing researchers to collect more data and transition from fundamental to applied science, including laser-based particle accelerators.

The system is employed in a wide range of experiments, such as generating coherent X-ray radiation, electron acceleration, and higher-order harmonic generation. It is also crucial for attosecond metrology and nonlinear XUV/X-ray science, 4D imaging, and industrial, biological, and medical applications. Built from scratch using industry-tested technologies, the system ensures exceptional stability and reliability, delivering approximately 120 mJ pulses with CEP stability of less than 250 mrad and pulse energy stability of less than 1%.

Options

• -F8: Short Pulse option reduces output pulse duration to ≤8 fs (wavelength tunability not available with this option)
• -CEP: CEP stabilization to ≤250 mrad (passive and active CEP stabilization)
• -DM: 'Deformable Mirror' option for Strehl ratio improvement to >0.7
• -ps out: Additional narrow spectra ps output optically synchronized to main system output (can be simultaneous or non-simultaneous)

Characteristics / Technical Specifications

• Model: UltraFlux FF401k-F8-CEP / UltraFlux FF1201k-F8-CEP
• Output energy: 40 mJ / 120 mJ
• Peak pulse power: >5 TW / >15 TW
• Pulse repetition rate: 1 kHz
• Wavelength: 900 nm
• Pulse duration: ≤8 fs (≤3 cycles)
• Pulse energy stability: ≤1 %
• Long-term power drift: ±1.5 %
• CEP stability: ≤250 mrad
• Beam spatial profile: Super-Gaussian
• Beam diameter: ~50 mm / ~100 mm
• Beam pointing stability: ≤20 µrad
• Strehl ratio: 0.7
• Temporal contrast (APFC within ±50 ps): 10¹⁰ : 1
• Pre-pulse (≤50 ps): 10¹⁰ : 1
• Post-Pulse (>50 ps): 10⁸ : 1
• Laser head size (W×L×H mm): 9000 × 5000 × 1200 / 9000 × 9000 × 1200
• Umbilical length: up to 10 m / up to 8 m
• Electrical power: 208, 380 or 400 V AC, three-phase, 50/60 Hz
• Power consumption: ≤40 kVA / ≤60 kVA
• Water supply: ≤30 l/min, 2 Bar, max 15 °C / ≤40 l/min, 2 Bar, max 15 °C
• Operating ambient temperature: 22 ±2 °C
• Storage ambient temperature: 15–35 °C
• Relative humidity (non-condensing): ≤80 %
• Cleanness of the room: ISO Class 7