A multi-Petawatt high-energy laser PETAL coupled to the Ligne d'Intégration Laser (LIL) is under construction in the Aquitaine Region in France. This Petawatt laser will be dedicated to academic experiments in the fields of high energy density physics and ultra high intensity. Nd : glass laser chain coupled with the chirped pulse amplification (CPA technique allows delivery of high energy. Optical parametric CPA for pre-amplification and a new compression scheme will be implemented. PETAL is designed to deliver 3.6 kJ of energy in 500 fs on a target corresponding to 7.2 PW. The PETAL beam linked to the up to 60 kJ ns UV beams from the LIL will present new scientific research opportunities.
Abstract. The status of the PETAL project is presented in this paper. The global architecture and performances of this facility are detailed with the first experimental results obtained on the LIL facility, and with the main steps which will allow shooting in the center of the target chamber. Some technical issues like wavefront correction, damage threshold in femtosecond regime and focusing are presented.
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