Product Code: ILSC2009_1102_2

Laser Safety for the Experimental Halls at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)
Authors:
Michael Woods, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Redwood City CA USA
Perry Anthony, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Menlo Park CA USA
Ken Barat, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab; Berkeley CA USA
Sasha Gilevich, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Menlo Park CA USA
Greg Hays, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Menlo Park CA USA
William E. White, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Menlo Park CA USA
Presented at ILSC 2009

The LCLS at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center will be the worlds first source of an intense hard x-ray laser beam, generating x-rays with wavelenths of 1nm and pulse durations less than 100fs. The ultrafast X-ray pulses will be used in pump-probe experiments to take stop-motion pictures of atoms and molecules in motion with pulses powerful enough to make images of single molecules, enabling scientists to elucidate fundamental processes of chemistry and biology. In 2009, LCLS will deliver beam to the Atomic Molecular and Optical (AMO) Experiment, located in one of 3 x-ray hutches in the Near Experimental Hall (NEH). The NEH includes a centralized laser hall, containing up to three class IV laser systems, 3 x-ray hutches for experiments and vacuum transport tubes for delivering laser beams to the hutches. The main components of the NEH Laser System are a Ti:sapphire oscillator, a Regen amplifier and its pump laser. The main components of the AMO laser system in the x-ray hutch are a pulse compressor, utilizing chirp pulse amplification, and a harmonics conversion unit. Laser safety considerations and controls for the ultrafast laser beams, multiple laser controlled areas, and user facility issues will be discussed.