L2I – Laboratório de Lasers Intensos, Laboratory for Intense Lasers – is a research infrastructure for high-power, ultrafast lasers and applications. L2I is located in the Alameda Campus of Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon and is a member of the Portuguese Roadmap of Strategic Research Infrastructures under the Laserlab-Portugal distributed infrastructure.
Our research is performed through the development and application of custom ultrafast laser sources from the near- and mid-IR, and covers the following topics:
- Laser science and technology
- Ultrafast pulse diagnostics
- Nonlinear optical phenomena
- Ultrafast laser ablation
- Nonlinear material characterization
- Two-photon excited fluorescence
- Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy (TRIR)
- Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)
L2I also has an important role in:
- Training of young researchers, through PhD and MSc theses, BSc Graduation Projects and Research Internships.
- Testing and preparation of experiments to be carried out at large-scale facilities
Currently, the following main laser systems are available at L2I:
| Amphos Driver | Amphos PulsePick | Amphos MPC | Fastlite OPCPA | Yb:YAG Multipass | YCOB OPA |
|---|
| Central wavelength | 1030 nm | 3100 nm | 1030 nm | 825 nm |
| Pulse duration | 1 ps | 1 ps | 100 fs | 40 fs | 1 ps | 15 fs |
| Energy per pulse | 1 mJ | 0.25 mJ | 0.64 mJ | 60 µJ | 60 mJ | 50 µJ |
| Repetition rate | 1-40000 kHz | SS-1 kHz | 1-40000 kHz | 100 kHz | 100 Hz | 100 kHz |
| Average power | 100 W | 25 W | 64 W | 6 W | 6 W | 5 W |
| Applications | - High-throughput pump–probe
- Frequency conversion
- OPA seeding/pumping
- THz generation
- Supercontinuum/PCF
- kHz femtosecond micromachining
- Nonlinear optics at kHz
| - HHG in solids
- Strong-field physics
- Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy
- THz generation
- Mid-IR sensing
- Chemistry and biophotonics
| - Pump–probe on solids
- Frequency conversion/pumping (515 nm)
- THz generation
- Laser-driven plasma
- Ablation physics
- Materials processing (ps regime)
| - Ultrafast time-resolved spectrometry
- Nonlinear optics
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| Main diagnostics | - Energy meter, power meter (up to 100 W)
- Spectrometer: Ocean Optics HR2000+, Horiba HR3200, Fastite Mozza
- Pulse duration: APE autocorrelator, high-contrast autocorrelator, custom FROG
- Beam profile: Phasics SID4 wavefront sensor, VIS, NIR and MIR cameras
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| Target area | - Multi-purpose 1.1 meter diameter target chamber with clean high-vacuum capability and vibration isolation
- Two optical tables for setup and temporary diagnostics.
- Beam profile: Phasics SID4 wavefront sensor, VIS, NIR and MIR cameras
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