Quebec City, CANADA – September 19th, 2013 – In July of 2012, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) of California acquired nothing less than the most powerful laser ever made. Developed and constructed by the French laser manufacturer Thales, this Petawatt laser holds the world record for instant peak power.
The Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) is now able to produce ultra-short Petawatt pulses of only 40 femtoseconds that exhibit a power of about 1.3 * 1015 watts at a repetition rate of 1 Hz. In addition of being unmatched in terms of instant power, BELLA’s laser-driven plasma acceleration experimental facility is the only one that has the ability to use laser to accelerate an electron beam to energies as high as 10 GeV in an enclosure of about one meter long. Commonly, conventional particle accelerators are far less impressive in that perspective. For comparison, the Stanford linear accelerator in California can produce energies up to 50 GeV, but its facilities are 3.2 kilometers long.
There are now great expectations regarding this technology. Scientists on the project hope that people will come to BELLA instead of going to CERN or SLAC and wish that new avenues of radiopharmaceutical and patient therapy development will open up. Above all, they hope the project will pave the way for future accelerators to be more compact, more cost-effective and cleaner for the environment while still producing high-quality electron beams.
The Greatest Expertise for the Greatest Laser
For the development of this state-of-the-art laser technology, the best solutions in terms of laser beam measurement were needed. Gentec Electro-Optics was honored to be chosen for this crucial mission. Custom calorimeters able to measure the high energies of the BELLA’s project were manufactured and delivered successfully. Among other advantages, they were chosen for their high damage thresholds, high sensitivity and outstanding signal to noise ratios.
With over forty years of experience, Gentec Electro-Optics has acquired extensive knowledge and developed great expertise regarding measurement and analysis of very high energy laser beams. Through cooperation with several leading research facilities around the world, the company has become an expert in terms of manufacturing, calibrating and servicing calorimeters.
Using NIST traceable sources and proven calibration techniques, Gentec-EO’s calorimeters are always the most accurate large aperture measurement devices on the market. With calibration uncertainties of ± 3%, and repeatabilities better than ± 2% for very large beams, Gentec-EO’s calorimeters are the only reliable solutions available on the market for high energy measurement.
About Gentec Electro-Optics
Located in Quebec City, Canada, Gentec Electro-Optics is a leader in the laser measurement field with 40 years of experience. In 2000, Gentec Electro-Optics, Inc. was formed from Gentec, Inc. so that the focus was entirely on laser measurement. The company now manufactures a complete range of laser power and energy meters, beam diagnostics and diffractive optics. Since the acquisition of Spectrum Detector in June 2010, they have added many products to the range, including high speed 130 kHz joulemeters and a unique industry leading line of THz sensors and instruments. Gentec Electro-Optics is also known as the first worldwide supplier of large aperture calorimeters to measure the highest pulse energies. Their products are sold around the world, with distributors and representatives in over 35 countries.
