fast, powerful and efficientfemtocryble

vulgarisation pour le projet ANR femtocrybleWhat are 'New Yb-doped crystals and laser architectures for the development of a chain femtosecond laser high power' (FEMTOCRYBLE)'s three major research objectives? The main objective of FEMTOCRYBLE is to use newly developed Ytterbium (Yb)-doped lasers to improve the performance of diode-pumped femtosecond solid-state lasers in terms of power, pulse duration, energy and efficiency. For this, the first research objective concerns crystal improvement; a second concerns the study of the spectral and thermal properties of the crystals in laser condition; and a third concerns the development of innovative laser architectures and geometries. How is the project structured? FEMTOCRYBLE is a straightforward, vertical project. We proceed with growing the crystals, undertaking the laser experiment and then transferring the technology to a company. The strength of the project is based on strong collaboration between partners. Improvements in laser quality influence laser performance, which helps us to understand problems that might be encountered in future crystal generation. France is at the forefront of innovation and research in this field; why is this? There is particularly strong international competition in this field. Nonetheless, French laboratories have been positioned as one of the world leaders on crystal and laser developments for ultrashort-pulse generation based on new Ytterbium (Yb)-doped crystals. This leadership is due to a strong collaboration between French laboratories expert in material science, such as CIMAP and LCMCP, and those (such as LCF) which specialises in diode-pumped femtosecond laser devices. This national focus and leadership has already led to several important breakthroughs using very innovative Yb-doped crystals. In 2006 we developed Yb:CALGO, the shortest pulse ever obtained with an Yb-doped crystal, and undertook the first demonstration of laser operation and femtosecond pulse generation of another very promising crystal, Yb:CaF 2. Has a multidisciplinary approach proved important to FEMTOCRYBLE

Next generation ice core technology reveals true minimum natural levels of lead (Pb) in the atmosphere: insights from the Black Death

Current policies to reduce lead pollution in the air are based on the assumption that pre-industrial levels of lead in the air were negligible, safe or non-existent. This trans-disciplinary article shows that this is not the case, using ‘next-generation’ laser technology in climate science, in combination with detailed historical and archaeological records in as many as 7 languages, from all over Europe. We show that lead levels in the air have been elevated for the past 2000 years, except for a single 4-year period. This 4-year period corresponds with the largest known pandemic ever to ravage western Europe (the Black Death), resulting in a 40-50% reduction in population. This unprecedented historic population collapse was accompanied by dramatic economic collapse that halted lead mining and smelting, and related emissions in the air. This trans-disciplinary study is a collaboration led by Harvard University and the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, and researchers from the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and the University of Nottingham (UK). It uses next-generation technology and expertise in history, climate science, archaeology and toxicology, brought to bear in a highly detailed contribution to planetary health, with crucial implications for public health and environmental policy, and the history of human exposure to lead

A study of the detection efficiency of the LIGO interferometers to transient sources

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71).The LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) detectors have now completed their fifth science run and have reached design sensitivity. Gravitational wavebursts only last for a few cycles within the characteristic frequency band of LIGO. This work focuses on the study of burst-like hardware injections during the fifth science run. Injected signals serve multiple purposes. Their primary goal is to study the cross-couplings between the gravitational wave channel and the auxilary channels. They also allow us to benchmark the ability of our search method to extract the signal parameters, thereby validating a whole portion of the analysis pipeline. Finally, they enable us to quantify the efficiency of our detectors depending on the strength and morphology of the signal. The stationarity of this parameter is also studied to ensure the variation of the sensibility is limited. Using theoretical estimations of the amplitude of the gravitational waves emitted by different sources, these efficiencies in turn allows us to have an estimate of the rate at which detection can be expected for each type of astrophysical object. This work does not reflect the scientific opinion of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and it was not reviewed by the collaboration.by Gautier Brunet.S.M

The integration of new technologies : the stakes of knowledge

In order to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive international context, French companies are forced to follow one or more of various possible routes: relocating some of the activities, optimizing the design and / or production process, or innovate technologically. When they choose to develop new technologies, it is advisable to seek outside expertise in different areas. Thus they must exchange and create knowledge in partnership with other companies. But in order to control and integrate this future technology, we support that the acquisition and the capitalization of the technical training, during the process of innovation, are of primary importance. This article demonstrates that the construction of this knowledge base can be achieved only by formalizing close and rigorous collaboration. To do this, we propose a model of the collaborative process, meant for the leaders of innovative projects to support design.Cifr

Educating and Training Accelerator Scientists and Technologists for Tomorrow

Accelerator science and technology is inherently an integrative discipline that combines aspects of physics, computational science, electrical and mechanical engineering. As few universities offer full academic programs, the education of accelerator physicists and engineers for the future has primarily relied on a combination of on-the-job training supplemented with intense courses at regional accelerator schools. This paper describes the approaches being used to satisfy the educational interests of a growing number of interested physicists and engineers.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

Bridging the gap

This paper illustrates some of the outcomes from research carried out by the main author as art jeweller in the Laser Processing Research Centre (LPRC) in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at The University of Manchester. The work shows examples of surface marking of titanium using a 60 W CO2 10.6 μm laser for the production of jewellery and observes the effects caused by heat delivered to the titanium substrate. Points are addressed such as the distance created between artist and technology, allowing ‘accidents’ to happen in a necessarily precise and safe environment and the need for closer communication between disciplines in order to understand the potential of emerging technologies for art and design

ECFA Detector R&D Panel, Review Report

Two special calorimeters are foreseen for the instrumentation of the very forward region of an ILC or CLIC detector; a luminometer (LumiCal) designed to measure the rate of low angle Bhabha scattering events with a precision better than 10$^{-3}$ at the ILC and 10$^{-2}$ at CLIC, and a low polar-angle calorimeter (BeamCal). The latter will be hit by a large amount of beamstrahlung remnants. The intensity and the spatial shape of these depositions will provide a fast luminosity estimate, as well as determination of beam parameters. The sensors of this calorimeter must be radiation-hard. Both devices will improve the e.m. hermeticity of the detector in the search for new particles. Finely segmented and very compact electromagnetic calorimeters will match these requirements. Due to the high occupancy, fast front-end electronics will be needed. Monte Carlo studies were performed to investigate the impact of beam-beam interactions and physics background processes on the luminosity measurement, and of beamstrahlung on the performance of BeamCal, as well as to optimise the design of both calorimeters. Dedicated sensors, front-end and ADC ASICs have been designed for the ILC and prototypes are available. Prototypes of sensor planes fully assembled with readout electronics have been studied in electron beams.Comment: 61 pages, 51 figure