Ultrafast Laser Science

The development of ultrafast laser sources has revolutionized the scientific landscape. Due to their versatility and precisely-controlled properties, these sources are widely used as drivers and diagnostic tools across a broad range of cutting-edge applications.

In the last few decades, the mid-infrared region has attracted substantial interest primarily due to its access to molecular vibrational and rotational modes, as well as for its potential for enabling advanced phenomena such as harmonic generation and attosecond pulse generation.


We present several experimental efforts at the Laboratory of Intense Lasers (L2I) at Instituto Superior Técnico, with a particular focus on the development of a millijoule-level laser source delivering 3000 nm pulses with a duration of 85 fs at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. This system is based on Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) and Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification (OPCPA).


We also discuss the design and numerical simulation of the front-end for the upcoming VULCAN 20-20 project in the United Kingdom aiming for a 20 PW beamline.