Virtual Lab Tours

LCLS Lab (SLAC National Lab)

Key Equipment and Instrumentation
  1. Flint 1030nm Laser: ultrafast mode-locked laser critical for timing, pump-probe experiments, amplification, and nonlinear optics.

  2. Carbide Laser: 40W high-power ultrafast system used for electron beam accelerator physics and XFEL dynamics.

  3. Santec SLM 210: spatial light modulator.

  4. Dazzler: Acousto-optic pulse shaper (Fastlite) for real-time pulse shaping/compensation in ultrafast systems.

  5. Home-built IR Short Pulse SHG-FROG: Custom second-harmonic generation FROG setup for measuring ultrashort pulse duration/phase.

  6. Cross-Correlator

  7. Cross-Correlator 2

  8. Tangerines: 2x high-power ultrafast system from Amplitude Systemes

  9. GECO Autocorrelator: Commercial autocorrelator

  10. Spectrometer: UV covers 200–400nm range paired with Green Spectrometer (visible range, 400–700nm).

  11. Power Meters: Thermopile (Ophir) or photodiode-based (Thorlabs) for laser power/energy measurements.

  12. Photodiodes: Fast detectors (InGaAs/Si) for IR/visible light; brands include Thorlabs/Hamamatsu.

  13. Oscilloscope: High-speed (1GHz+, 10GS/s) for photodiode signal analysis

 

BELLS Lab (E6, UCLA)

Key Equipment and Instrumentation

Lasers, Optics, and Diagnostics

  1. 20W Pharos Laser: Ytterbium-doped femtosecond laser system (Light Conversion Pharos)

  2. Harmonic Generator: Frequency doubling/tripling/quadrupling unit to convert 1um output to visible/UV wavelengths.

  3. OPA): Tunable wavelength source (Light Conversion Orpheus) for FIR-to-visible range.

  4. SLM (Spatial Light Modulator): Liquid crystal device for beam shaping/wavefront control 

  5. Water cooling: Closed-loop chiller system for laser/equipment thermal management.

  6. Pump/Signal Delay Lines: Motorized stages for temporal overlap adjustment in pump-probe experiments.

  7. Telescopes: Beam expanders/reducers for size control (e.g., Keplerian/Galilean configurations).

  8. Hollow Core Fiber: (photonic crystal) hollow-core fiber for nonlinear spectral broadening or pulse compression.

  9. TG FROG (Transient Grating FROG): Custom setup for measuring ultrashort pulses via transient grating method.

  10. Spectrometer: Broadband analyzer (e.g., Ocean Insight HR4000) for spectral measurements.

  11. Noble Gases: used for plasma generation or as a buffer gas in experiments.

  12. Vacuum tubes: Custom vacuum components for specialized optical paths or diagnostics.

DC Gun and Components, Electronics, Diagnostics

Components

  1. Vacuum chamber and electron gun: Custom ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system for electron beam generation.

  2. 2 x Turbomolecular pumps (Leybold TURBOVAC 90 i/iX): High-speed pumps for achieving UHV (<1e-9 mbar).

  3. 2 x Ion pressure gauges (k.J Lesker 354): Measures vacuum levels in the 1e-3 to 1e-9 mbar range.

  4. Collimator Coil (DrX Works): Magnetic coil for electron beam collimation.

  5. Steering Coil (DrX Works): Adjusts electron beam trajectory.

  6. RF cavity (RadiaBeam): Accelerates electrons via RF fields.

  7. Focusing coil (DrX Works): Magnetic lens for beam focusing.

  8. 3 x Gate valves: Manual UHV isolation valves.

  9. Cubic Modular Vacuum Chambers: Custom UHV-compatible chamber.

  10. Agilent E3632A: Triple-output DC power supply (0–25V, 0–1A).

  11. Keysight E3631A: Precision DC power supply (0–6V/0–5A, 0–±25V/0–1A).

  12. 3 x Linear Motion Feedthroughs (2.75″ Flange, 2″ Travel): UHV-compatible manipulators for sample positioning.

Cameras

  1. Timepix3: Hybrid pixel detector for electron/particle imaging (time-resolved, high dynamic range).

  2. Basler AcA720-520um + Edmund Optics 33-303/12mm lens: Visible-range camera for beam profiling/alignment.

Controls Software

  1. LabVIEW 2024: Custom control interfaces for power supplies, pumps, and diagnostics.

  2. Leybold LEYASSIST 25.3.1: Turbopump control/monitoring software.

  3. Sophy program: Physics controls for Timepix3 data acquisition.

  4. SolidWorks 2024: Mechanical design/analysis for chamber components.

Computers

  1. Control computer: Runs LabVIEW, SolidWorks, and LEYASSIST (Windows OS).

  2. Linux computer: Dedicated to Timepix3 data acquisition/analysis.

QSENSE Lab (CNSI, UCLA)

Key Equipment and Instrumentation

Lasers and Optical Components, Diagnostics

  1. NKT Origami OneFive femtosecond lasers: 2x compact, high-performance femtosecond C-band mode-locked laser

  2. Pump laser diode drivers: precision current sources for driving laser diodes; critical for stable operation of fiber amplifiers.

  3. f-2f interferometers: used for carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilization in ultrafast lasers.

  4. Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs): optical signal power amplifier in fiber-based systems

  5. WaxWing Instruments FPGA phase-locked loops: High-speed digital PLLs for laser frequency stabilization or synchronization.

  6. SRS rubidium frequency standard: Ultra-precise clock reference (e.g., Stanford Research Systems FS725) for laser locking.

  7. Thorlabs 202C optical spectrum analyzer

  8. Electrical spectrum analyzer: Analyzes RF/electronic signals

  9. InGaAs photodiodes: Fast detectors for near-IR wavelengths

  10. Fujikura FSM-40PM fusion splicer: High-precision fiber splicer for low-loss connections.

  11. MesaPhotonics FROG: Frequency-resolved optical gating device for ultrashort pulse characterization.

  12. Femtochrome Autocorrelator: Commercial autocorrelator for measuring femtosecond pulse widths.

  13. DC power supplies: Standard laboratory power supplies (PSUs) for electronics and optics

  14. High-frequency locking servos: Feedback systems for laser stabilization (e.g., PID controllers).

  15. Fiber microscopes: Inspects fiber end faces for contamination/cleave quality.

  16. Fiber splitters, circulators, WDMs, isolators, and patch cables: Passive fiber components for signal routing/noise suppression.

  17. RF amplifiers: Boosts RF signals for driving modulators/acousto-optics.

  18. RF tunable bandpass filters: Selects specific frequency bands for noise reduction.

  19. Acousto-optics: beam deflection/intensity control and modulation

  20. Electro-optic modulators: High-speed modulators (e.g., LiNbO₃) for phase/amplitude control.

(Bio)chemistry and Aerosols, Sample Controls 

  1. Wavelength Gas Cell: Sealed cell for gas-phase spectroscopy

  2. Home-made gas cell: Custom cell for specific pressure/wavelength experiments.

  3. Flow control gas mixer: Precision mass flow controllers for gas mixing 

  4. Collision nebulizer: Generates aerosols for particle analysis or coating.

  5. Drierite™ gas-drying unit: Removes moisture from gas lines.

  6. WS-400BZ spin coater: Deposits thin, uniform films on substrates.

  7. Olympus microscope: Likely for sample inspection/alignment.

  8. Isotemp vacuum oven: For drying/baking samples under controlled pressure.

  9. Dragonlab hotplate stirrer: Combines heating and stirring for chemistry prep.

  10. Fisher Scientific MultiTube rotators: Mixes tubes/vials for consistent reactions.

  11. AWS analytical balance: High-precision weighing 

  12. Glass cube for optical measurements: Custom holder for spectroscopy/light interaction studies.

  13. Micropipette: Precision liquid handling (e.g., Eppendorf).

  14. Branson Ultrasonic Cleaner: Cleans labware with high-frequency sound.

  15. Thermo Scientific FTIR: Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer for chemical analysis.

  16. Supercontinuum source: Broadband laser for spectroscopy/microscopy.