27 August 2015
Paris, France – Quantel Laser, a leader in the design and manufacture of high-power, solid-state lasers for Scientific, Industrial, Military and Medical applications, today announced that, following successful development and a stringent qualification process, the CEA has placed an initial production order for preamplifier modules for the Megajoule Laser Facility in Bordeaux, France.
Under terms of the multi-year contract, Quantel will manufacture and test the critical preamplifier modules used in the Laser Source Assembly. The Preamplifier Modules will increase the energy of the initial pulse from several billionths of a Joule to around 1 Joule. Further amplification takes place in the amplifier section and, after beam combination, the total energy delivered to the target is expected to be in excess of one million Joules.
According to the CEA’s website, “the Megajoule Laser Facility (LMJ) is a key component of CEA's Simulation Program. Its purpose is to study, at a very small scale, the behavior of materials under extreme conditions similar to those reached during the operation of nuclear weapons. The LMJ is designed to deliver, in a few billionths of a second, more than one million joules of light energy to targets measuring a few millimeters in size. Since France indefinitely halted nuclear testing in 1996, the Simulation Program has been the key element that allows CEA physicists to guarantee the reliability, safety and performance of the country's nuclear weapons.”
“For over 10 years, Quantel has been working in close cooperation with teams from the French Atomic Energy Authority on the design, development and manufacture of this critical technology,” commented Alain de Salaberry, CEO of Quantel. “Despite exceptional technical challenges in design, manufacture and test, we’re thrilled to deliver the demanding performance required for this unique application.”
In order to bring the system to full functionality, a total of 90 preamplifier modules are required to equip the 22 laser beam lines. The CEA may place a second similar size order in order to fully equip all lines of the Megajoule Laser.
Further information about the Megajoule project is available through CEA’s website at www-lmj.cea.fr
Quantel receives 20M€ order from the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
4 Year Contract Delivers Preamplifier Modules to CEA’s Megajoule Laser Facility
Quantel Laser announced that, following successful development and a stringent qualification process, the CEA has placed an initial production order for preamplifier modules for the Megajoule Laser Facility in Bordeaux, France.
