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2d ago

ZEUS Laser Facility Achieves Record 2-Petawatt Power, Paving Way for Future Breakthroughs

The University of Michigan's ZEUS laser system has become the most powerful in the U.S., with plans to reach 3 petawatts and zettawatt-equivalent experiments later this year.

John Nees (left) and laser engineer Paul Campbell (right) work in Target Area 1, where the first 2 petawatt user experiment will take place. ZEUS is now the most powerful laser in the U.S. Photo: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering
A view through the titanium-sapphire crystal that helps to transfer power into ZEUS’s laser pulses. At two petawatts, ZEUS is now the most powerful laser in the U.S. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan Engineering
Photo by Marcin Szczepanski/Lead Multimedia Producer, University of Michigan College of Engineering.

Overview

  • ZEUS, the Zettawatt Equivalent Ultrashort laser pulse System, successfully delivered a 2-petawatt laser pulse lasting just 25 quintillionths of a second, doubling the power of its predecessor, HERCULES.
  • The laser uses advanced wakefield acceleration techniques, firing pulses into helium gas to create plasma and accelerate electrons to unprecedented speeds.
  • The facility operates as a National Science Foundation-funded user laboratory, welcoming researchers globally to conduct high-field experiments through a competitive proposal process.
  • The first user-led experiments, led by Franklin Dollar's team, aim to generate electron beams with energies comparable to large-scale particle accelerators, advancing compact accelerator technology.
  • ZEUS is preparing for a major upgrade in late 2025, enabling a 3-petawatt laser pulse experiment that will simulate zettawatt-scale interactions for groundbreaking quantum and plasma physics research.