Fiber lasers poised to advance lab's development of practical laser-plasma accelerators

The next phase in the development of laser-plasma particle accelerators (LPAs)—potentially game-changing tools for research and practical applications—is underway at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). A new approach to high-power lasers—combining the pulses from many fast-acting but lower-energy optical fiber lasers—will energize these super-compact accelerators.