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Laser Systems Development for the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source Photoinjector--Kapteyn-Murnane Laboratories, Inc., 4699 Nautilus Court South, Unit 205, Boulder, CO  80304; 303-544-9068, www.kmlabs.com

Dr. Sterling Backus, Principal Investigator, sbackus@kmlabs.com

Dr. Henry C. Kapteyn, Business Official, hkapteyn@kmlabs.com

DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-04ER83987

Amount:  $99,998  

New-generation accelerators such as the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC will require new, high-performance laser-driven photoinjectors.  This will require a substantial advance in the state-of-the-art for ultrafast laser technology, in order to obtain the required pulse energy, shape and duration, and average power.  In this project, a laser system will be designed and constructed to provide light pulses of 10 psec duration (0.5 psec rise/fall) and greater than 25 mJ pulse energy at 800 nm and 120 Hz, for generation of UV pulses to drive the photoinjector.  Phase I will upgrade existing design codes in order to:  (1) simulate the generation, propagation, and frequency upconversion of a pulse with the required temporal shape; and (2) study thermal loading in the various laser amplifiers.  If feasible, proof-of-principle experiments will be conducted to verify pulse-shaping issues.  A suitable overall laser design will be developed, with implementation in Phase II to allow for a study of pulse-shape, beam quality, and pulse stability issues.  

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  The technology should be useful for a variety of applications in both research and industry, including photoinjectors for various accelerators and large-scale light sources, research in ultrafast materials dynamics, and precision micromachining.