Welcome to the Micro- and nano-structured materials for experiments with high-power lasers Expert Group

High-power lasers are used worldwide for a very wide range of applications. To cite a few of them, nanosecond terawatt-scale power laser facilities are employed for the research on clean energy production, in the context of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), while picosecond and femtosecond petawatt-scale power lasers are used for the acceleration of charged particle (electrons and protons in particular) and for the generation of bright XUV and X-ray sources. In all these situations, the choice of the material constituting the target is crucial to improve the experimental performances. Micro and nano-structured materials are the subject of an intense research activity by the international community due to the advantages they offer for the mentioned applications.

The present expert group comprises members of Laserlab-Europe AISBL with strong common research interests and expertise in the experimental study of the features of the interaction of micro- and nano-structured materials with high power lasers. Their common interest in these research topics over multiple experimental grounds is driving our efforts towards the organization of joint activities and collaborations.