The HiLASE centre (High average power pulsed LASErs) is one of the major investment projects of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IoP) with a total value of approx. €30M co-financed by the OP Research and Development for Innovation. The Centre focuses on the research and development of a new generation of high energy diode-pumped solid state laser systems (DPSSLs) with high repetition rates. Thanks to the breakthrough technical parameters, new lasers developed are truly unique and their equivalents cannot be found in any other laboratory in the world. In fact, by employing the cutting edge technology of diode pumping, our lasers will be significantly more powerful and efficient, more compact, more stable and more easily maintained than those driven by old-fashioned flash lamp technology.
HiLASE centre will be fully operable since 1 January 2016 when a new technology called based on Diode Pumped Optical Laser for Experiments will be Commenced. Results from HiLASE centre will have direct impact on many research and industrial entities in the Czech Republic and across the rest of the world. Our wide range of R&D services with high added value includes laser induced damage threshold measurement of optical materials, laser shock peening, prototyping of compact soft X-ray sources for EUV lithography, precise cutting, drilling and processing of special materials, development and optimization of technology of laser micromachining and surface cleaning. Therefore, the centre has a clear potential for being an outstanding science and technology asset for the region as well as for EU.
The main objective of the HiLASE+ project, which is fully in line with the main goal of the National Sustainability Program I (NSP I) call, will be reached through partial objectives (see section A3).
The implementation of the HiLASE+ project will result especially in: - the development of cooperation with the international scientific community; - the development of cooperation with the application sector; - maintaining and enhancing further the quality of the research team; and - the enhanced interdisciplinary nature of research through the wide use of laser applications.
In the framework of the HiLASE centre, the following research programmes will be implemented between 2016 and 2020: • Research Programme 1: Research on picosecond thin-disc lasers • Research Programme 2: Research on nanosecond cryogenic lasers • Research Programme 3: Research and technological applications of lasers
The above research programmes are directly linked to the HiLASE centre research programmes being implemented in 2011-2015.