The Czech Republic has already invested €32M of EU structural and national funding in the construction of an advanced, „next generation“ laser, HiLASE, at Dolní Břežany in the Central Bohemia Region. HiLASE has the potential to be an outstanding science and technology asset for the region and for Europe, driving innovation and enabling world leading science. The Phase 2 Widespread Teaming Project is the perfect vehicle to transform the HiLASE facility into such a Centre of Excellence able to accelerate further innovations and growth.
E.C. Teaming (H2020) resources will focus on establishing the Centre’s industrial and academic user community, on building bridges between academia and industry, pursuing the innovation and science agenda and other reform processes in the Centre implemented on the short and medium timescale (0 – 6 years) in order to reach a qualitatively new and stable position in the international research and innovation area.
The Institute of Physics (IoP) in the Czech Republic teams up with the Central Laser Facility (CLF) at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire, UK. CLF is widely recognised as a world leader in both the delivery of advanced laser facilities to a large and diverse international user community, and in the development of the „next generation“ laser technology which is at the heart of this proposal. This exciting partnership ensures that the Centre is „up and running“ as a world leader as quickly as possible, that opportunities for innovation, exploitation and excellent science are identified and developed, and that a cutting edge Centre enhancement programme is delivered efficiently, on time and with the best value for money. In combination, these will ensure the success of the Centre for the duration of the Teaming Action and guarantee its future sustainability.
Future development of the HiLASE Centre is not an isolated activity. The Centre is perfectly located in a new and dynamically developing region STAR, i.e. the cluster including all key innovative infrastructures and hi-tech companies of the region with huge potential to increase the competitiveness of the region and wellbeing of its people. Together with other local and regional players the potential to reduce regional disparities and weaknesses in R&D&I field in the Czech Republic is thus significantly increased. The tremendous development potential of the region in combination with the unique infrastructure of the HiLASE Centre and know-how of the strategic Partner (STFC) from high performing country is a guarantee of success of this project.
The Centre will provide access to „next generation“ laser technology in the form of diode pumped, solid state laser (DPSSL) architecture, much of it developed by STFC. The technology incorporates highly efficient laser emitting diodes (LEDs) to generate the intense light pulses that drive, or „pump“, the laser amplifiers. This DPSSL technology brings a unique combination of high peak laser power, high average power, high pulse repetition rate and high efficiency. This combination makes HiLASE the perfect facility „engine“ for a Centre of Excellence, bringing an unmatched opportunity for research excellence, technological innovation and industrial exploitation.
This project has received funding from the European Structural and Investing Funds, Operational Programme Research, Development and Education (Grant agreement NO CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_006/ 0000674) and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement NO 739573).
