World’s Most Powerful Laser, ‘ZEUS,’ Equips U.S. With Beam Surpassing 100x Global Electric Power Output

A ZEUS laser at the University of Michigan has surpassed all others by performing the first successful 2-petawatt (2 quadrillion watts) experiment on record, making it the most powerful laser worldwide. This brief, 25 quintillionths of a second event released power 100 times higher than global electricity.

This new level in magnet strength allows scientists to start conducting experiments that haven’t been done in America yet, explains Karl Krushelnick, director of the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. To provide enough power, the laser began with an infrared pulse, then broadened to 12 inches, and finally narrowed again down to almost nothing in diameter, creating plasma by touching air.

The unique features ZEUS displays are helping to design things like fusion energy and future space missions. The group is now aiming to use a rare 7-inch titanium-doped sapphire crystal, which took 4.5 years to produce, to create a 3-petawatt system.

In the coming studies, electrons will be shot into high-power lasers, mimicking strong zettawatt conditions a million times more powerful. Laser speckle could possibly produce the same level of output as particle accelerators, but at far less cost.

Having access to ELBE means the U.S. can now lead in the field of high-intensity laser science again, said Franklin Dollar from UC Irvine.

AEIS program director Vyacheslav Lukin said that ZEUS’s research could result in new cancer treatments and advanced soft tissue imaging techniques. With ZEUS reaching new physical boundaries, the U.S. is advancing in next-generation laser technology and research.