Facilities & Equipment
Physical Space and Equipment
The main lab space for the Laser Science Engineering Research Lab (LaSER), has three 30 ft by 30 ft rooms with six 12 ft by 4 ft Newport optical tables that are dedicated to optics and photonics research. The Center has over $ 10 million dollars of the latest in lasers and applied photonic measurement devices including a wide array of Ocean Optics spectrometers operating from 200 nm to 1100 nm, 2 Princeton Instruments intensified CCD cameras, Hamamatsu streak cameras, a series of StellarNet spectrometers ranging from 200-1700 nm, a Frequency Resolved Optical Grating (FROG) system for pulse diagnostics of femtosecond laser systems and two high speed, high definition LeCroy oscilloscopes ($40,000 each).
Lasers
The LaSER Lab has a wide range of lasers spanning from femtosecond to microsecond pulse durations over a range of pulse energies and repetition rates. Additionally, LaSER Lab has multiple diode lasers ranging from 976 – 1500 nm along with the accompanying power supplies and controllers available for use. Each laser system has a set of nanometer-resolution 3D motorized translation linear stages in combination with rotation stage for complex and precise sample positioning. These stages are controlled using a custom-build LabView interface that is integrated with optical imaging systems for precise sample alignment.
Equipment
Laser | Center Wavelength | Repetition Rate | Pulse Energy or | Pulse Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ti:Sapphire | 800 nm | 1 kHz | 1 mJ | 80 fs |
Uranus | 1500 nm | Single pulse - 85 kHz | 10 µJ | 800 fs |
Ti:Sapphire | 800 nm | 75 MHz | 4 nJ | < 10 fs |
Ti:Sapphire | 800 nm | 1 kHz | 1 mJ | 150 fs |
CO2 | 10.6 µm | CW/10 Hz | 1.6 kW | CW/µs |
Nd:YAG | 1064/532 nm | 30 Hz | 350 mJ | 7 ns |
Nd:YAG | 1064/532 nm | 10 Hz |
| 16 ns |
Sample Characterization
The LaSER Lab has a Philips FEI evironmental scanning electron microscopy in the same room as the laser facilities for easy sample characterization. This SEM has a 25 nm resolution sample and is used extensively in laser damage measurements and aligning lens systems in femtosecond laser systems.