Project description
High-power laser control for plasma applications
Plasma, an extreme form of matter, is central to advanced technologies like fusion and particle acceleration. To create and control plasma, high-power lasers (often operating at terawatt or petawatt levels) are essential. However, mastering the art of shaping plasmas with lasers remains a challenge, particularly due to limitations in high-power beam control. This gap is addressed by the ERC-funded project metaPOWER, which will develop high-damage-threshold metasurfaces for high-power lasers. These advanced metasurfaces will enable precise control over laser beams, including spatiotemporal and polarisation aspects. The project aims to demonstrate groundbreaking applications, such as laser-plasma instability control, wakefield acceleration, and tunable radiation sources, ultimately revolutionising fusion energy and particle acceleration.
Objective
Plasma is an extreme form of matter at the heart of important applications like fusion and particle acceleration. The creation and control of plasma require high-power lasers, now increasingly within reach, often operating at terawatt or petawatt levels. One of the six grand challenges in Plasma Science and Engineering is mastering the art of molding plasmas with lasers, yet a gap exists: the need for advanced beam control at high power levels.
metaPOWER aims to fill this gap by developing high-damage-threshold metasurfaces—the state-of-the-art nanotechnology in structured light—for high-power lasers. These metasurfaces will be integrated in innovative laser beam shapers, offering spatiotemporal and vectorial (polarization) control over laser beams, thus making a leap over the state of the art, which is currently limited by the lack of advanced high-power optics.
The project will demonstrate the ability to seed and control laser-plasma instabilities via reconfigurable vector beams, and to create topology-controlled wakefield acceleration and tunable X-ray and THz-to-xUV sources based on space-time beams with orbiting pulses. This marks a paradigm shift in laser-matter interactions, enabling new possibilities in fusion energy, particle acceleration, and radiation sources. Feasibility is backed by solid preliminary results, including successful structured laser-plasma simulations, a demonstrated scheme for the synthesis of space-time beams, and initial metasurface fabrication resilient to high-power lasers.
The implications of metaPOWER's success extend far beyond the groundbreaking objectives of this proposal. These transformative technologies may catalyze advancements in quantum plasmas, laser material processing, high harmonic generation, and the development of a new class of polarization plasma optics, opening up new horizons in high-power structured laser-matter interactions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1000 029 Lisboa
Portugal
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.