Laserlab-Europe AISBL

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Lasers, related radiation sources and diagnostics at ENEA-Frascati for applications to material science, radiation hardness of materials and components
2024-03-20 16:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Online
Speaker: Fabrizio Consoli (ENEA, Italy)

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The ENEA-Centro Ricerche Frascati has a very long-standing tradition on lasers and applications. The first laser operated here in the ‘60s, just after the first Maiman’s experiment [1]. The activity has embraced over the years different laser approaches and regimes. In the frame of high energy and high intensity lasers, the “ABC laser facility” has been operating here for many years. It is a Nd: phosphate glass laser delivering two beams of 100 J energy each, for intensity on target up to the PW/cm2 level. It is equipped with an extremely large number of diagnostics for the description of the laser-produced plasma and electromagnetic and particle radiation, allowing a very good characterization of the interaction. It has been historically used for experiments of inertial confinement fusion and laser-plasma interaction, and it has been recently employed also for the use of the produced radiation for other applications such as material testing, biology, sensor calibration, thanks also to a patent recently issued. The diagnostics includes a four-frame time resolved shadowgraphy and interpherometry for the description of plasma evolution during time, two Thomson spectrometers and an array of time-of-flight detectors for ion and plasma spectroscopy (including Faraday cups, diamond sensors and a large area scintillator), an X-ray transmission grating and two arrays of X-ray diodes with different filters for time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy, one X-ray and two optical streak cameras, two X-ray gated cameras, several probes for radiofrequency-microwave fields, imaging plate and CR39 sensors. The experimental activity has always been performed together with theoretical activity and development of tailored numerical codes and diagnostics development.
The ENEA FEL group operates in Frascati since the very beginning of the FEL era and continues to investigate the FEL emission mechanisms in different operating regimes, both theoretically and experimentally. In ENEA-Centro Ricerche Frascati a research program started in the mid 80’ for the realization of compact Free Electron Lasers (FELs) operating in the long wavelength part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The “Compact FEL” is based on a 5 MeV Microtron powered by a 2 MW Magnetron. The electron energy can range from 2.5 MeV to 5.5 MeV. The electron beam performances are suitable for millimetre (MM) and sub-millimetre (sub-MM) operation. The source generates radiation over a wide band emission spectrum of around 150 GHz with a power level of about 1.5 kW over a macro-bunch duration of 4 microsecond, and a peak power of about 10 kW over a bunch length of 15 ps. The ENEA Compact FEL is part of the larger CETRA infrastructure, that includes many other different sources operating in a wide spectral region, ranging from microwaves up to the infrared region. Most of these CETRA sources exhibit a low power output and are suitable for spectroscopic studies in several application fields. Many applied activities have been conducted over the years on electron dynamic studies in solid state devices, biological studies, cultural heritage diagnostics and agricultural diagnostics.
References
[1] P. Di Lazzaro, R. De Angelis, G.P. Gallerano, A. Doria, “Tutti i ‘colori’ dell’ENEA”, EAI Energia, Ambiente e Innovazione 6, 38 (2015), DOI 10.12910/EAI2015-092.
This Talk is part of a series of webinars where Laserlab-Europe members introduce their techniques available to academic and industry users in the field of recyclable materials. Transnational Access is provided to international scientists to more than 50 research infrastructures being part of the ReMade@ARI project.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Some representative results on planetology of laboratory at LULI
2024-02-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Alessandra Benuzzi-Mounaix (CNRS-LULI, France)

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While the number of exoplanets detected is growing at such an incredible pace as to make them a new class of astrophysical objects, the physical properties required for modelling their interiors are currently lacking. In addition to exoplanet modelling, important controversies also remain for the planets constituting our solar system. The knowledge of basic physical properties of materials composing the planetary interiors is fundamental to understand important phenomena such as magnetic field generation or luminosity. Planetology in laboratory is a domain devoted to characterize matter at planetary interior conditions by recreating in a controlled laboratory environment these conditions. Here, I present a summary of relevant results obtained mainly on LULI2000 using shock and alternative compression methods coupled with visible and X-ray diagnostics. We focused our efforts on pure and mixed H2O and NH3 [1-3] as well as MgO-SiO2 systems [4] that are relevant for planetary interiors. We measured equations of state, reflectivity along the principal Hugoniot, as well as some off-Hugoniot conditions (using static and dynamic pre-compression [4]). We also developed the X-ray diffraction diagnostic to obtain information on structural changes in situ [5].
References
[1] A.Ravasio et al “Metallization of Shock-Compressed Liquid Ammonia” Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 025003 (2021)[2] M. Guarguaglini et al. Laser-driven shock compression of “synthetic planetary mixtures” of water, ethanol, and ammonia” Sci. Rep. 9, 10155 (2019).[3] J.−A. Hernandez et al. Melting curve of superionic ammonia at planetary interior conditions. Nature Physics, 2023, 19 (9), pp.1372−1372[4] M. Guarguaglini et al.. Electrical conductivity of warm dense silica from double−shock experiments. Nature Communications, Nature Publishing Group, 2021, 12 (1), pp.840.[5] A. Denoeud, et al.. X−ray powder diffraction in reflection geometry on multi−beam kJ−type laser facilities. Review of Scientific Instruments, American Institute of Physics, 2021, 92 (1)

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Towards sustainability by applications of laser processing
2024-01-31 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Juraj Sládek (HiLASE, Czech Republic)

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Laser material processing, aside from cutting and welding applications, is also applicable for advanced surface modification of a broad range of materials. This includes surface functionalization to achieve superhydrophobic, self-cleaning or passive antibacterial surfaces, reduced friction and wear of metallic components, increased surface area for battery electrodes and more. In addition, a technique of Laser Shock Peening (LSP) is used to extend lifespan of mechanical components. Many of these methods can help us to improve functionality of products with an impact beneficial to the environment.
In this talk, several laser processing applications will be discussed and demonstrated on use cases.
This Talk is part of a series of webinars where Laserlab-Europe members introduce their techniques available to academic and industry users in the field of recyclable materials. Transnational Access is provided to international scientists to more than 50 research infrastructures being part of the ReMade@ARI project.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Multi-pass cells - quasi-guiding systems for laser pulse post-compression and advanced nonlinear optics
2023-12-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Christoph Heyl (DESY, Germany)

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Nonlinear multi-pass cells (MPCs) have brought exciting opportunities to the field of ultrafast optics, ranging from major advances in post-compressed ultrafast lasers to novel frequency conversion schemes. As a hybrid concept bridging free-space and guided-wave nonlinear optics, MPCs overcome several limitations of traditional nonlinear optics approaches. Here, I discuss the underlying principles and possibilities of nonlinear MPCs, as well as selected recent results.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Multimodal and Multiscalar Hyperspectral Imaging
2023-11-22 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Alessia Candeo (POLIMI, Italy)

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Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a powerful technique that couples optical imaging with spectroscopy, allowing for the acquisition of spatially resolved spectral data from a sample. Typically, HSI systems rely on spectral or spatial filters, which can constrain the acquisition throughput. We propose an innovative approach based on Fourier Transform, in which a compact birefringent interferometer is optically coupled to a camera, facilitating straightforward multimodal studies across multiple scales. Various methods and applications will be showcased, we the intent of demonstrating the potential uses.
This Talk is part of a series of webinars where Laserlab-Europe members introduce their techniques available to academic and industry users in the field of recyclable materials. Transnational Access is provided to international scientists to more than 50 research infrastructures being part of the ReMade@ARI project.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Scientific fundamentals and practice of Photoacoustic Tomography
2023-10-25 16:00 - 17:00
Speaker: Fábio A. Schaberle (CLL, Portugal)

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Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is based on the absorption of light by endogenous or exogenous molecules – organic or inorganic – and the subsequent generation of acoustic waves resulting of the rapid deposition of heat upon deactivation of the excited electronic states of these molecules. In practice, PAT is used to imaging small animals, e.g. mice, using pulsed laser light with wavelengths capable of penetrating biological tissues (680nm-2300nm) and activating specific chromophores. The great advantages of PAT are the molecular contrast provided by the selective absorption of light and the resolution (microns) obtained by the high frequencies of acoustic waves.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Time-resolving energy dissipation pathways in materials
2023-10-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Jens Biegert (ICFO, Spain)

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A standing challenge in material and molecular sciences is identifying how excitation dissipates. Jens Biegert will show that attosecond soft x-ray spectroscopy provides a powerful new analytical tool for an engineered approach to remedies. After describing the attosecond methodology, he will discuss recent graphite results, a material that is relevant to many technological applications. He will explain how their method allows them to detect the time-evolution of electron-electron interaction, specifically the scattering mechanisms and the dispersion of electron-phonon coupling, including detecting non-Raman active modes.
This Talk is part of a series of webinars where Laserlab-Europe members introduce their techniques available to academic and industry users in the field of recyclable materials. Transnational Access is provided to international scientists to more than 50 research infrastructures being part of the ReMade@ARI project.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: RGB lasers in dermatology and endoscopy
2023-09-20 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Janis Spigulis (University of Latvia)

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RGB lasers that emit simultaneously three spectral lines (red, green and blue) are gaining increased applications, mainly related to color projections and color TV. Thanks to the collimated output beam, RGB laser radiation can be efficiently launched in optical fibers which open new application prospects, including uniform three laser line illumination for highly sensitive spectral imaging to improve performance of clinical diagnostics in dermatology and endoscopy.
This talk provides insight into the principles and methodology of triple spectral line imaging under RGB laser-fiber illumination, and its implementation in lab-made prototype devices. For assessment of skin malformations, two RGB laser based prototypes were developed – one for examination of relatively small skin areas (~2-3 cm in diameter) and one for spectral line imaging of larger skin areas of typical dimensions ~40-80 cm, suitable also for full-body skin diagnostic imaging. The obtained three spectral line images are further transformed into distribution maps of three main skin chromophores to help clinicians in diagnosing the malformations with higher precision and reliability. For assessment of mucosa pathologies, a triple RGB laser line illumination system to replace the traditional white light endoscopic illumination has been developed. Some clinical examples will be discussed, as well; clinical tests of the developed devices are underways.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: A multi-MeV Alpha Particle Source via Proton-Boron fusion driven by a 10-GW Tabletop Laser
2023-06-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Valeria Istokskaia (ELI Beamlines, Czech Republic)

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Nuclear fusion between protons and boron-11 nuclei has undergone a revival of interest thanks to the rapid progress in pulsed laser technology. Potential applications of such reaction range from controlled nuclear fusion to radiobiology and cancer therapy. A laser-driven fusion approach consists in the interaction of high-power, high-intensity pulses with H- and B-rich targets. We report on a pioneering experiment exploiting proton-boron fusion in CH/BN targets to obtain high-energy alpha particle beams (up to 5 MeV) using a compact approach and a tabletop laser system with a peak power of ~10 GW, which can operate at high-repetition rate (up to 1 kHz). The secondary resonance in the cross section of proton-boron fusion (~150 keV in the center-of-mass frame) is exploited for the first time using a laser-based approach. The generated alpha particles are characterized in terms of energy, flux, and angular distribution using solid-state nuclear-track detectors, demonstrating a flux of ~105 particles per second at 10 Hz, and ~106 per second at 1 kHz. Numerical hydrodynamic and particle-in-cell simulations support our experimental findings. Potential impact of our approach on future spread of ultra-compact, multi-MeV alpha particle sources driven by moderate intensity (1016-1017 W/cm2) laser pulses is anticipated.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Towards the detection of vacuum birefringence
2023-04-26 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Gerhard Paulus (Helmholtz Institute Jena, Germany)

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Strong electromagnetic fields polarize vacuum such that it becomes birefringent. Not surprisingly, the effect is tiny, even if petawatt-class lasers are used for inducing the effect and X-ray lasers for probing it. Quite obviously, the performance of the required X-ray polarimeters is the decisive bottleneck: an extinction ratio of 1011 or better is required. Gerhard Paulus and his team have been working since more than 10 years to remove the bottleneck. He will report how close they have come to the feasibility of a promising demonstration of vacuum birefringence. He will also explain how to design a reasonable experiment and which mistakes to avoid.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Complex molecules in stellar nurseries
2023-03-29 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Sandra Bruenken (FELIX Laboratory, Netherlands)

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Complex organic molecules, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are found in a large variety of astronomical environments, including low temperature and low density molecular clouds in the interstellar medium which are the birthplaces of new stars and planets. Laboratory astrophysical studies on chemical reaction pathways under astronomically relevant conditions are crucial to interpret astronomical observations and as input for simulations in astrochemical networks. Of similar importance are spectroscopic studies of the often elusive, but essential, molecular reaction partners, intermediates and products that yield fundamental insights on their structure, and provide spectroscopic signatures needed for their identification in space.
Cryogenic ion traps have proven to be ideal tools for studying ion-molecule reactions under controlled conditions and enable sensitive spectroscopic studies of mass-selected, cold, and isolated molecular ions. Here, Sandra Bruenken will describe the combination of such a cryogenic 22-pole ion trap instrument with the widely tunable infrared free electron lasers at the FELIX Laboratory [1]. Infrared action-spectroscopy is used to structurally characterize isomeric ions formed upon (dissociative) ionization of neutral species, allowing us to unravel their fragmentation processes (top-down processes). Very recently, they developed a novel combination of ion-molecule reactivity studies and infrared spectroscopy to elucidate and disentangle formation routes of complex molecules (bottom-up processes) at astronomically relevant temperatures, and have in this way identified an efficient low-temperature PAH-growth pathway from mono- to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [2].
References
[1] P. Jusko, S. Brünken, O. Asvany, S. Thorwirth, A. Stoffels, L. van der Meer, G. Berden, B. Redlich, J. Oomens, S. Schlemmer, Faraday Discuss. 217, 172-202 (2019)
[2] D.B. Rap, J.G.M. Schrauwen, A.N. Marimthu, B. Redlich, S. Brünken, Nat. Astron. 6, 1059 (2022)

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Extreme plasma physics with lasers and in astro
2023-02-22 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Luis Silva (IST, Portugal)

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Many extreme astrophysical scenarios share common underlying microphysics with laboratory scenarios with relativistic particle beams and ultra-intense lasers. In these conditions, collective plasma effects driven by relativistic flows, ultra-high field intensities, and quantum electrodynamics effects are intertwined. In many scenarios, these relativistic and quantum effects can have direct consequences on the collective plasma dynamics.
The underlying first principle mechanisms are highly nonlinear, and occur at scales far from the plasma or the object scales, making these processes intrinsically multi-scale, and thus requiring a combination of theory and large-scale numerical simulations for a detailed analysis. The conditions under which extreme plasma physics can be relevant will be discussed, along with the recent progress (from large-scale simulations of compact objects to multi-dimensional ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions), illustrating how ultra-intense electromagnetic fields approaching the critical Schwinger field impact the collective plasma dynamics. This interplay will be emphasized, and the main challenges and open questions will be presented.
Work partially supported by the European Research Council (AdG InPairs).

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Dual Comb Spectroscopy for Electronic Fingerprint Spectroscopy
2022-12-14 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt (Graz University of Technology, Austria)

Dual Comb Spectroscopy combines high spectral resolution with broad spectral coverage and short measurement times. In the recent years, this spectroscopic method has proven its capabilities in molecular spectroscopy in different spectral regions ranging from the visible across the infrared spectral region into the THz domain [1-3]. The UV has so far been neglected for fingerprinting although electron transitions are as element specific as rovibrational transitions and the corresponding absorption cross sections can be huge (> 100 Mb). Especially molecular gasses of astrophysical and environmental relevance have strong and congested absorption characteristics in this spectral region (few examples: NO2, CO, SO2, HCHO). Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt will present their latest efforts on expanding dual comb spectroscopy via non-linear frequency up-conversion into the ultraviolet region. The challenges include UV frequency comb generation with a high photon flux, efficient UV interferometry and fast UV signal detection [4].
Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt is a university professor at the Institute of Experimental Physics at TU Graz, Austria. Schultze-Bernhardt`s research focus involves the development of ultraviolet frequency comb generation for high resolution molecular spectroscopy.
References
B. Bernhardt, A. Ozawa, P. Jacquet, M. Jacquey, Y. Kobayashi, T. Udem, R. Holzwarth, G. Guelachvili, T. W. Hänsch, and N. Picqué, “Cavity-enhanced dual-comb spectroscopy,” Nature Photonics 4, 55–57 (2009).T. Ideguchi, S. Holzner, B. Bernhardt, G. Guelachvili, N. Picqué, and T. W. Hänsch, “Coherent Raman spectro-imaging with laser frequency combs.,” Nature 502, 355–8 (2013).G. Hu, T. Mizuguchi, R. Oe, K. Nitta,X. Zhao, T. Minamikawa, T. Li, Z. Zheng and T. Yasui, “Dual terahertz comb spectroscopy with a single free-running fibre laser”, Scientific Reports 8, 11155 (2018)V. Schuster, C. Liu, R. Klas, P. Dominguez, J. Rothhardt, J. Limpert, and B. Bernhardt, “Ultraviolet dual comb spectroscopy: a roadmap”, Optics Express 29, Issue 14, 21859-21875 (2021)

Laserlab-Europe Talk: KiMoPack - A python Package for Kinetic Modeling of the Chemical Mechanism
2022-11-30 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Jens Uhlig (Lund University, Sweden)

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Jens Uhlig (Lund University, Sweden) will present KiMoPack, an analysis tool for the kinetic modeling of transient spectroscopic data.
KiMoPack enables a state-of-the-art analysis routine including data preprocessing and standard fitting (global analysis), as well as fitting of complex (target) kinetic models, interactive viewing of (fit) results, and multi-experiment analysis via user accessible functions and a graphical user interface (GUI) enhanced interface.
KiMoPack is open source and provides a comprehensive front-end for preprocessing, fitting and plotting of 2-dimensional data that simplifies the access to a powerful python-based data-processing system and forms the foundation for a well-documented, reliable, and reproducible data analysis.
Jens is an associate professor at the Division of Chemical Physics, in the Department of Chemistry, Lund University, and is an expert in time-resolved optical and X-ray methods, particularly on ultra-fast timescales.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Laser microscopy for the study of infectious disease
2022-10-19 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Dave Clarke (CLF, UK)

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Infectious diseases of humans, animals, and plants have very significant societal and economic impacts. The COVID-19 pandemic is an obvious example, and another major threat is the increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Climate change is bringing increasing pressure on crops, making them more susceptible to diseases, with potentially serious consequences for food supplies.
Optical microscopy techniques have made a significant impact across many areas of human, animal, and plant biology, and research into infectious disease is no exception. In this talk Dave Clarke (CLF) will give an overview of some of the latest laser-based optical microscopy methods, and show examples from the Central Laser Facility’s research programme showing how they are providing valuable insights into the biology underlying infectious disease, and helping point the way to new treatments.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Investigations of Laser-Plasma Interaction and hot electron generation in Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion: approaching to the Shock Ignition irradiation regime
2022-06-22 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Gabriele Cristoforetti (INO-CNR, Italy)

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One of the main concerns of Shock Ignition (SI) scheme to Inertial Confinement Fusion is the growth of parametric instabilities in the plasma corona, such as Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS), Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) and Two Plasmon Decay (TPD). Their extent can be tremendous during the interaction of the high intensity laser peak (I~1016 W cm-2) with the precompressed corona and they are expected to scatter a significant amount of laser energy and to generate large fluxes of suprathermal electrons (HE), with a considerable impact on both the shock pressure and the preheat of the fuel capsule. The non-linear character of these instabilities becomes progressively more important with the increase of laser intensity, which makes the extrapolation of analytical models quite inaccurate; a more detailed understanding of these processes therefore calls for experiments dedicated at investigating Laser Plasma Interaction (LPI) in conditions as close as possible to those envisaged in SI.
In this presentation, we report results obtained in experiments at Gekko XII, PALS and VULCAN laser facilities, focussed at investigating LPI and at identifying the mechanisms originating suprathermal hot electrons. In all of them, Stimulated Raman Scattering and Two Plasmon Decay were accurately and time-resolved characterized by means of spectroscopic and calorimetric tools, while a full set of diagnostics – including Ka imaging and spectroscopy, Bremsstrahlung cannons and Magnetic Electron Spectrometers – were used for achieving an energy-resolved characterization of hot electrons. The regime of interaction in these experiments is significantly different, with laser intensity ranging from Il2 ~2·1014 Wmm2/cm2 to ~2·1016 Wmm2/cm2, plasma density scalelength rising from 50 to 400 mm, laser wavelength going from the UV to the IR range, laser irradiation in single- and multi-beam configuration, allowing a good understanding of the role played by the different experimental parameters.
After critically discussing the experimental results, we will show here the future directions of our research in this field and the aims of the forthcoming experiments.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: AI for X-ray scattering
2022-06-08 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Nico Hoffmann (HZDR, Germany)

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The long term and sustainable success of the X-ray community essentially depends on its ability to meet growing challenges in handling and analyzing data of increasing volume and complexity.
Machine Learning (ML) provide a smart solution enabling dramatically increasing the output of X-ray scattering facilities regarding acceleration of the data analysis, optimization of beam time usage and, consequently, growth of publication rate. Analysis of scattering data is a very time-consuming process as it requires solving an ill-posed inverse problem to infer properties of the imaged object.
We will be discussing two state-of-the-art methods to solve this task: 1) ML-based estimation of the most important parameters of the object in a single step given the experimentally acquired scattering image; 2) Iterative ML-assisted phasing based on automatic differentiation that can be very easily used for fast reconstruction of multiple X-ray scattering modalities such as CDI, mono- & polychromatic Ptychography as well as Holography.
Some parameters exhibit low contribution to the acquired data which also hampers reliable predictions and discrimination of these parameters. We show that normalising flows can be used to recover the predictive posterior distribution of these parameters to resolve ambiguous situations and provide information about the reliability of the estimate.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Matterwave Optics as a key Quantum Technology
2022-05-25 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Wolf von Klitzing (ULF-FORTH, Greece)

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The famous particle-wave duality states that all particles are waves and all waves are particles. Most of us are aware of the fact that light can be thought of consisting of photons. It is less well known that atoms can behave just like (matter)waves, which can be manipulated in a manner analogous to light: We now can create matterwave lenses, waveguides, interferometers and even matterwave amplifiers and lasers.
In this colloquium, I will introduce the basics of matterwave (optics) as well as some of its applications to precision sensing. I will also present some of the research results of the Cretan Matterwaves Group, where we have demonstrated a CERN-like matter-wave accelerator and fully-coherent matterwave guide [1] as well as matterwave-lensing down to the pico-kelvin regime.
References
[1] Saurabh Pandey et al. Hypersonic Bose–Einstein condensates in accelerator rings – Nature 570 7760 205–209 (2019) DOI:/10.1038/s41586-019-1273-5

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Adapting to an emerging pandemic to find a role for medical optics in COVID-19 patients and more
2022-05-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Turgut Durduran (ICFO, Spain)

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When COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns started, we sought to evaluate whether our technologies for evaluating tissue oxygen metabolism and hermodynamics with photonics could be helpful. A sequence of coincidences, bright postdocoral fellows and an overworked intensive care physician with an amazing insight into the needs came together for us to embark in an international, multi-center clinical trial with minimal funding. This then led to a Horizon 2020 project partially enabled by our longstanding collaborations in LaserLab JRAs. In the talk i will describe the technologies, their fundamental physical background, how we are using them and what we believe their future impact would be.

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Ignition, a dream that came true
2022-04-06 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Sébastien le Pape (CNRS-LULI, France)

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Fusion energy has been the driving force in the High Energy Density (HED) community for more than fifty years but especially since the start of the National Ignition Campaign in 2009 on the National Ignition facility (LLNL, USA). The National Ignition Campaign, though a marvel in term of laser technology and data quality in this challenging regime, has failed to achieve ignition. This failure has shed lights on gaps of our understanding of fundamental plasma properties such as thermal transport or emissivity. Following these initial difficulties, evolution of the design (higher adiabat, new ablator, new hohlraum conditions) has led to significant improvement in implosion performance over the years and finally to performance close to ignition (Q=0.7) in the summer of 2021. The talk will go over these evolutions and why they led to the recent successes obtained on the NIF.
The talk is organised within the framework of the Laserlab-Europe Expert Group on Laser-driven Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) – Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE).

Laserlab-Europe Talk: Lasers and batteries
2022-03-23 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Optical spectroscopy of battery degradation – Optical spectroscopy of materials for batteries – Laser micro/nano fabrication of materials for energy storage applications
We are pleased to announce the Laserlab-Europe Talks on Lasers and batteries
Speakers:

Akshay Rao (Cambridge University): Optical spectroscopy of battery degradation
Benedetto Bozzini (POLIMI): Optical spectroscopy of materials for batteries
Emmanuel Stratakis (IESL-FORTH): Ultrashort pulsed laser assisted fabrication of materials for batteries applications

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Laserlab-Europe Talk: Next Generation imaging and image-guided diagnosis and therapy for cancer
2022-02-23 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Time domain multiwavelength diffuse optics in breast cancer management – Theranostics with photoacoustic tomography and photosensitisers – Multimodal photoacoustic imaging of tumor angiogenesis
We are pleased to announce the Laserlab-Europe Talks: Next Generation imaging and image-guided diagnosis and therapy for cancer
Speakers:

Paola Taroni (CUSBO): Time domain multiwavelength diffuse optics in breast cancer management
Luis Arnaut (CLL): Theranostics with photoacoustic tomography and photosensitisers
Jithin Jose (FUJIFILM Visualsonics): Multimodal photoacoustic imaging of tumor angiogenesis
Jan Grimm (MSKC New York): The practical use of cancer imaging technologies in hospitals

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Laserlab-Europe Talk: Multi-photon 3D lithography for sub-100 nm additive manufacturing of inorganics
2022-02-09 16:00 - 17:00 | Online
Speaker: Mangirdas Malinauskas (VULRC, Lithuania)

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3D micro-/nano-structures enables miniaturization and enhancement of functionalities and integrations of devices for the fields of photonics, microfluidics, micromechanics, microelectronics, and microoptics.
Multi-photon lithography (also widely known as two-photon polymerization) as a laser direct writing technique offers flexibility to produce 3D structures for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing purposes. Recent developments of this ultrafast laser technique supported with the advances in material sciences allows 3D printing of inorganic structures routinely via combination of maskless photopolymerization and thermal post-treatment (pyrolysis or calcination).
The current achievements are very promising for technical applications where highly resilient structures (made out inertial materials for extended durability) are required, such as harsh environments, high intensity optics, and open space. In this talk the physical and chemical principles for 3D nano-structuring of inorganics employing laser lithography, hybrid and composite materials as well as post-treatment are covered. The most recent advances are overviewed and the major achievements are highlighted, among them are: sub-100 nm feature fabrication, crystalline nanostructures, resilient, high refractive index and transparent materials. Advances and limitations within the context of the emerging trends and potential immediate applications are discussed in details.
