Space-Time and Vectorial Meta-Optics for High-Power Structured Laser-Matter Interactions

Introduction

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.

Project Overview

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 into 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.

Objectives

The project will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Seed and control laser-plasma instabilities via reconfigurable vector beams.
2. Create topology-controlled wakefield acceleration.
3. Develop 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

Feasibility is backed by solid preliminary results, including:

• Successful structured laser-plasma simulations.
• A demonstrated scheme for the synthesis of space-time beams.
• Initial metasurface fabrication resilient to high-power lasers.

Implications

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.
• The development of a new class of polarization plasma optics.

This opens up new horizons in high-power structured laser-matter interactions.