Thales to partner with Russian Institute of Applied Physics over intense laser systems designed for scientific application

Moscow, Russia, 4-11-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — On the occasion of the official visit of the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Thales announces the signature of a Cooperation Agreement in the area of intense laser systems designed for scientific application. This agreement has been signed in the presence of both Jean-Marc Ayrault and his Russian counterpart, Dimitri Medvedev, in view of the XCELS programme (Exawatt Centre for Extreme Light Studies), which aims to develop an intense laser of 200 Petawatts for a budget of roughly €1 billion.

With this cooperation, Thales is offering the Russian Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) in Nizhny Novgorod its extensive experience in engineering intense laser systems for an ambitious programme with the objective of overcoming the current limit in particle acceleration. Renowned for its high scientific level in intense laser technology, the IAP holds a key position in the XCELS programme (www.xcels.iapras.ru) which aims to achieve very high energy levels in order to explore new areas of fundamental science and particle acceleration for medical application (such as medical imagery) or industrial use, such as the control of critical materials.

With 30 years of experience in laser design, Thales now develops and markets Petawatt-class intense laser systems. In 2012, Thales developed and constructed the BELLA laser, the first turn-key intense laser, offering a power of 1 Petawatt to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (California). Thales is currently completing the installation of another turn-key Petawatt laser in Romania and was recently awarded a contract by the European research programme ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure for Nuclear Physics), established to produce two intense lasers of 10 Petawatts each,  which will be installed in Romania.

Note for editors
Intense lasers are based on ultra-short pulses of a few tenths of a femtoseconds (1 femtosecond = one millionth of a billionth of a second). Based on the co-invention of French Professor Gérard MOUROU in 1985, intense lasers currently achieve an instantaneous peak power of more than 1 Petawatt (1 Petawatt = one quadrillion – or one million billion – watts). By combining a particle generator with an intense laser, the result is a particle accelerator with an unprecedented energy level, achieved for a lower budget than conventional particle accelerators.

About Thales
Thales is a global technologic leader for Defence & Security and the Aerospace & Transportation markets. In 2012, the company generated revenues of € 14,2 billion with 65,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security
requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers and local partners. www.thalesgroup.com

Press contact
Thales Media Relations, Innovation
Victoire Chartier
Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 90 22
victoire.chartier@thalesgroup.com

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Thales to partner with Russian Institute of Applied Physics over intense laser systems designed for scientific application

Thales to partner with Russian Institute of Applied Physics over intense laser systems designed for scientific application

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