Facilities and 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.
| Lasers | Center Wavelength | Repetition Rate | Pulse Energy or Average Power | 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.
