Laser-Plasma and Laser-Matter Interactions Laboratory

The Laser-Plasma and Laser-Matter Interactions Laboratory is located in room B-538 EBU-I on the campus of the University of California, San Diego (see Feb. 2006 photo of the inner lab). The lab is used for experimental studies of optics damage, laser-ablation plume dynamics, laser plasma physics and dynamic response of materials.

The lab contains energy sources and diagnostics used for performing research on Inertial Fusion Energy and related applications. The three main classes of short-pulse laser in the lab are solid state Nd:YAG, excimer and CO₂ lasers.

Primary Energy Sources

1. Spectra Physics QuantaRay 290-10
2. Continuum Surelite II-10
3. Lumonics (InnoLas) HY400
4. Ekspla SL355
5. Lambda Physik Compex 201
6. Lambda Physik LPX Pro 210i (currently operated with CO₂)
7. Lambda Physik LPX 240i (manual)
8. Coherent Antares 76S mode-locked 100-ps YAG laser (manual)
9. GSI Lumonics CO₂ laser
10. Questek excimer laser (currently operated with CO₂)

Plasma and Plume Diagnostics

1. Roper visible spectrometer
2. JenOptik EUV spectrometer
3. Elias high-resolution spectrometer: photo, manual, CCD, controller, software
4. Pi-MAX 2-ns iCCD camera
5. Pi-SX x-ray camera
6. PMT
7. EUV energy monitor
8. Nomarski interferometer
9. Hemispherical electrostatic ion energy analyzer
10. Faraday cup
11. laser diagnostics: cameras, photodiodes, energy meters

1. Nikon optical microscope (4 objectives, dark and bright field, Nomarski)
2. Ambios Technology XP-1 surface profiler
3. Ambios Technology Xi-100 non-contact optical profiler
4. 2-color nanosecond time-resolved surface pyrometer