The post-compression technique based on self-phase modulation of high-energy pulses leads to an increase in achievable peak power and intensity. Typically, the pulses considered in experiments have been less than 100 fs in duration. Here, the method is applied to the ELFIE laser system at the LULI facility, for a pulse of 7 J energy and an initial measured duration of 350 fs. A 5-mm-thick fused silica window and a 2 mm cyclic-olefin polymer were used as optical nonlinear materials. The 9 cm diameter beam was spectrally broadened to a bandwidth corresponding to 124 fs Fourier-limited pulse duration, and then it was partly post-compressed to 200 fs. After measuring the spatial spectra of the beam fluence, a uniform gain factor of 4 increase in the fluctuations over the studied range of frequencies is observed, due to small-scale self-focusing.

With the usage of the postcompression technique, few-cycle joule-class laser pulses are nowadays available extending the state of the art of 100 TW-class laser working at 10 Hz repetition. In this Letter, we explore the potential of wakefield acceleration when driven with such pulses. The numerical modeling predicts that 50% of the laser pulse energy can be transferred into electrons with energy above 15 MeV, and with charge exceeding several nanocoulombs for the electrons at hundreds of MeV energy. In such a regime, the laser pulse depletes its energy to plasma rapidly driving a strong cavitated wakefield. The self-steepening effect induces a continuous prolongation of a bubble resulting in a massive continuous self-injection that explains the extremely high charge of the beam rending this approach suitable for promoting Bremsstrahlung emitter and generator of tertiary particles, including neutrons released through photonuclear reactions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

The thin-film post-compression technique has the ability to reduce the pulse duration in PW-class lasers, increasing the peak power. Here, the nonlinear response of an increasingly available optical thermoplastic demonstrates enhanced spectral broadening, with corresponding shorter pulse duration compared to fused silica glass. The thermoplastic can be used close to its damage threshold when refreshed using a roller mechanism, and the total amount of material can be varied by folding the film. As a proof-of-principle demonstration scalable to 10-PW, a roller mechanism capable of up to 6 passes through a sub-millimeter thermoplastic film is used in vacuum to produce two-fold post-compression of the pulse. The compact design makes it an ideal method to further boost ultrahigh laser pulse intensities with benefits to many areas, including driving high energy acceleration.

With ultrafast laser systems reaching presently 10 PW peak power or operating at high repetition rates, research towards ensuring the long-term, trouble-free performance of all laser-exposed optical components is critical. Our work is focused on providing insight into the optical material behavior at fluences below the standardized laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) value by implementing a simultaneous dual analysis of surface emitted particles using a Langmuir probe (LP) and the target current (TC). ${\mathrm{HfO}}_2$ and ${\mathrm{ZrO}}_2$ thin films deposited on fused silica substrates by pulsed laser deposition at various ${\mathrm{O}}_2$ pressures for defect and stoichiometry control were irradiated by Gaussian, ultrashort laser pulses (800 nm, 10 Hz, 70 fs) in a wide range of fluences. Both TC and LP collected signals were in good agreement with the existing theoretical description of laser–matter interaction at an ultrashort time scale. Our approach for anin situLIDT monitoring system provides measurable signals for below-threshold irradiation conditions that indicate the endurance limit of the optical surfaces in the single-shot energy scanning mode. The LIDT value extracted from the LP-TC system is in line with the multipulse statistical analysis done with ISO 21254-2:2011(E). The implementation of the LP and TC as on-shot diagnostic tools for optical components will have a significant impact on the reliability of next-generation ultrafast and high-power laser systems.

Prostate cancer, a malignancy of significant prevalence, affects approximately half a million men in Europe, with one in twelve males receiving a diagnosis before reaching the age of 75. Radiotheranostics represents a paradigm shift in prostate cancer treatment, leveraging radionuclides for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, with PSMA emerging as the primary molecular target. Regulatory bodies have approved various PSMA-targeted radiodiagnostic agents, such as [¹⁸F]DCFPyL (PYLARIFY^®, Lantheus Holdings), [¹⁸F]rhPSMA-7.3 (POSLUMA^®, Blue Earth Diagnostics), and [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 (LOCAMETZ^®, Novartis/ILLUCCIX^®, Telix Pharmaceuticals), as well as therapeutic agents like [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (PLUVICTO^®, 15 Novartis). The approval of PLUVICTO^® in March 2022 for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have undergone prior treatments, including androgen receptor pathway-targeting agents and taxane-based chemotherapy, represents a significant advancement. Other radionuclides like ¹⁶¹Tb, ¹⁴⁹Tb, ²²⁵Ac, ²²⁷Th, ²²³Ra, ²¹¹At, ²¹³ Bi, ²¹²Pb, ⁸⁹Zr, and ¹²⁵I are presented, emphasizing their clinical implementation or the stage of clinical trial they are in in the flow to biomedical implementation. Three clinically wise used radionuclides ¹⁷⁷Lu, ²²⁵Ac, ²²³Ra are shown along with their characteristics. This review aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underpinning PSMA, explore the clinical applications of PSMA-targeted radiotheranostics, and critically examine the diverse challenges these therapies encounter in the treatment of prostate cancer.

This paper reports the results obtained for a distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB-QCL) exposed to different fluences of proton particles: 10¹⁴, 10¹⁵ and 10¹⁶ p/cm². Dedicated laboratory setups were developed to assess the irradiation-induced changes in this device. Multiple parameters defining the QCL performances were investigated prior to and following each irradiation step: (i) voltage-driving current; (ii) emitted optical power-driving current; (iii) central emitting wavelength-driving current; (iv) emitted spectrum-driving current; (v) transversal mode structure-driving current, maintaining the system operating temperature at 20 °C. The QCL system presented, before irradiation, two emission peaks: a central emission peak and a side peak. After proton irradiation, the QCL presented a spectral shift, and the ratio between the two peaks also changed. Even though, after irradiation, the tunning spectral range was reduced, at the end of the tests, the system was still functional.