£3.5M Laser Provides Peak Power at Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde has acquired one of the world’s most powerful lasers capable of bursts of light equivalent to twenty times all the power consumed on Earth and captured in fraction of a second.

The £3.5 million device - able to deliver peak powers with the highest repetition rate of any laser currently operational in a university laboratory - has numerous scientific applications including medical imaging, radiotherapy and generation of radioisotopes for imaging and cancer therapy. It is situated at the Strathclyde-based Scottish Centre for the Application of Plasma-based Accelerators (SCAPA), which delivers research into next-generation accelerators and radiation technology.

Dr Gregor Welsh, a Research Fellow in Strathclyde’s Department of Physics and Laser Manager of SCAPA, said: “This is a world-leading laser for any university – indeed, we believe it is the highest average powered lab-based laser of its type anywhere in the world. It acts as a light source which drives the applications and produces x-ray pulses that are short enough to take snapshots of molecular or solid state processes.”

Professor Dino Jaroszynski, director of SCAPA, added: “Our acquisition of this type of laser reflects Strathclyde’s status as a world-leading centre of physics. Its important applications underline Strathclyde’s international reputation for research with impact. It also forms part of a valuable training facility for PhD students.”

The laser can produce beams with a peak power of 350 terawatts (350x1012 Watts) – equivalent to twenty times the world’s power consumption, or the sun’s power reaching the earth over an area of 500 km x 500 km, for 25 femtoseconds (25x10-15 seconds), and produce up to 14 Joules of energy per pulse at 5 pulses per second (5 Hertz).

The laser, funded by Strathclyde and by the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), was designed and built by Thales.