Category : Laser components, systems, equipment and applications > Ultrafast laser system

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Santa Clara, Calif., June 14, 2004 – Coherent has been selected to supply a custom ultrafast amplified laser system for the multi-million dollar experimental proton beam cancer treatment system to be constructed at Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia, PA). The final output beam of this laser system will produce 5-10 J pulses with a duration of <50 femtoseconds. This corresponds to a peak power of around 100 terawatts. The beam will be focused to a near diffraction limited spot size in the proton beam generator, to achieve power densities as high as 1021 W/cm2. Such exceedingly high power densities are required to generate the proton beam to be used for tumor therapy research at the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Dr. Charlie Ma, Senior Physicist at Fox Chase, explains "Proton beams are in the early stages of investigation as an alternative to conventional X-rays for destructive treatment of tumors." One of the main drawbacks of radiation therapy is ancillary damage – the radiation is absorbed along its entire path as it transits the body. Compared with conventional x-rays, high-energy protons lose less energy as they pass through tissue, until their energy drops below a threshold level, at which point they are absorbed in a very short distance. This means that energy is selectively deposited at the end of their path, allowing high damage to the tumor with much reduced intervening tissue damage. Ma notes that, "The depth of penetration is a function of the proton energy. The new Fox Chase system is aimed at delivering proton energies up to 250 MeV, which is sufficient to treat tumors at any depths in the body. These high-energy protons are formed by ablating a thin target with the focused laser beam. This is an economically and practically attractive alternative to using a synchrotron or cyclotron to generate high energy protons."

Coherent will supply a Mira™ laser pumped by a continuous wave Verdi™ laser. The Mira output will be amplified in two stages using a Coherent Legend™ regenerative amplifier followed by a Coherent multi-pass amplifier. The 25 TW output of the laser system will be amplified to the 100 TW level in a custom amplifier built jointly by Coherent and Fox Chase. This amplifier will be pumped by a custom-designed 50 Joule Nd:Glass laser also supplied by Coherent.

Ma explains the choice of Coherent as the vendor for this technology; "We are building a highly complex, high value research tool using cutting-edge technology. We selected Coherent since they are the only company with extensive expertise at all levels of the ultrafast amplifier chain."

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