Characterization and performance of the Apollon main short-pulse laser beam following its commissioning at 2 PW level

We present the results of the second commissioning phase of the short-focal-length area of the Apollon laser facility, located in Saclay, France. This phase was conducted using the main laser beam (F1), scaled to a peak power of 2 PW. Under the tested conditions, the F1 beam delivered on-target pulses with a maximum energy of up to 45 J and a duration of 22 fs. Several diagnostics were deployed to assess the facility's performance. Key measurements included the on-target focal spot and its spatial stability, along with characterizations of secondary sources generated by irradiating solid targets. These evaluations aim at assisting users in designing future experiments. The laser-target interactions were thoroughly characterized, with emissions of energetic ions, x rays, and neutrons recorded, demonstrating good laser-to-target coupling efficiency. Additionally, we successfully demonstrated the simultaneous operation of the F1 beam with the auxiliary 0.5 PW F2 beam of Apollon, enabling dual-beam operation. This commissioning phase paves the way for the next stage in 2025, which will involve scaling the F1 beam to 8 PW, progressing toward the ultimate goal of achieving 10 PW power.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physics of Plasmas
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0252874
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
13.09

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article

Characterization and performance of the Apollon main short-pulse laser beam following its commissioning at 2 PW level

F. Trompier, C. Blancard, L. Lecherbourg, D. C. Gautier et al.
7 citations
Physics of Plasmas
Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
13.09
article

Characterization and performance of the Apollon main short-pulse laser beam following its commissioning at 2 PW level

F. Trompier, C. Blancard, L. Lecherbourg, D. C. Gautier, A. Beluze, Itamar Cohen, Antoine Fréneaux, L. Romagnani, D. Mataja, Frédéric Perez, Ishay Pomerantz, Edouard Veuillot, Evgeny D. Filippov, Y. Ayoul, Thibaut Vinchon, Ph. Cossé, W. Yao, L. Lancia, M. Grech, C. Evrard, Mathieu Dumergue, L. Grémillet, Ronan Lelièvre, С. А. Пикуз, François Mathieu, E.Ø. Cohen, N. Lebas, P. Renaudin, David Michaeli, M. Chabanis, Davide Cavanna, E. d’Humières, P. Antici, Q. Ducasse, F. Gobert, S. N. Chen, Tessa Waltenspiel, J. Fuchs, Dimitris N. Papadopoulos, Stéphane Marchand, A. Allaoua, F. Hai, H. Lahmar, A.K. Beck, Franck Goupille, Yoav Heller, Gabriel Meyniel
article en
7 citations

Abstract

We present the results of the second commissioning phase of the short-focal-length area of the Apollon laser facility, located in Saclay, France. This phase was conducted using the main laser beam (F1), scaled to a peak power of 2 PW. Under the tested conditions, the F1 beam delivered on-target pulses with a maximum energy of up to 45 J and a duration of 22 fs. Several diagnostics were deployed to assess the facility's performance. Key measurements included the on-target focal spot and its spatial stability, along with characterizations of secondary sources generated by irradiating solid targets. These evaluations aim at assisting users in designing future experiments. The laser-target interactions were thoroughly characterized, with emissions of energetic ions, x rays, and neutrons recorded, demonstrating good laser-to-target coupling efficiency. Additionally, we successfully demonstrated the simultaneous operation of the F1 beam with the auxiliary 0.5 PW F2 beam of Apollon, enabling dual-beam operation. This commissioning phase paves the way for the next stage in 2025, which will involve scaling the F1 beam to 8 PW, progressing toward the ultimate goal of achieving 10 PW power.

Physics of PlasmasVol. 32(4)
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), École Polytechnique (FR), Université de Bordeaux (FR), Tel Aviv University (IL), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (CA), Sorbonne Université (FR), Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (FR), Horia Hulubei National Institute for R and D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (RO), CEA DAM Île-de-France (FR), Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (FR), Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications (FR), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Los Alamos National Security (United States) (US), Spanish Center for Pulsed Lasers (ES), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (FR)
Compute Canada, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires Étrangères, Ministère de l'Education Nationale, de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche, Institut de Radioprotection et de SÛreté Nucléaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Bordeaux, PAZY Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
13.09
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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