Fyzikální ústav Akademie věd ČR

The division is in charge of implementation of ELI Beamlines - the largest research project in the history of the Czech Republic. The Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences acts as the coordinator of the ELI Project in the Czech Republic and applied for a structural funds grant from the Operational Program Research and Development for Innovation. The project Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is part of a European plan to build a new generation of large research facilities selected by the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). The main goal of ELI consists in creating the latest laser equipment in the world. There will be accomplished and implemented research projects covering the interaction of light with matter at intensity being 10 times higher than currently achievable values. ELI will provide ultra-short laser pulses of a few femtoseconds (10-15 fs) duration and give performance up to 10 PW. ELI will bring new techniques for medical image-display and diagnostics, radiotherapy, tools for new materials developing and testing, latest in X-ray optics, etc. ELI will also be an attractive platform for educating a new generation of scientists. The Czech Republic will become the host country for the top international research, which may attract further investment in advanced technologies with high added value.