11 Apr 2025

ELI Showcases Research and Facility Advances at SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics 2025

The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) had a strong presence at this year’s SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics conference, held in Prague from 7–10 April 2025. As one of the key international events for cutting-edge photonics research, the conference brought together leading scientists and engineers to explore advances in high-power lasers, attosecond science, laser-driven particle acceleration, and related fields—core areas of focus for ELI.

ELI had a strong presence with more than 40 contributions from Extreme Light Infrastructure Facilities (ELI Beamlines, Czech Republic and ELI ALPS, Hungary) in the form of invited talks, poster presentations, and technical discussions. The contributions covered a wide range of topics, from facility updates and strategic developments at the ELI Facilities, commissioning of advanced laser systems and target stations to breakthroughs in particle acceleration, plasma diagnostics, and AI-driven control systems for research infrastructures.

Katalin Hideghéty' talk at SPIE

Among the ELI highlights was an invited talk about laser-driven particle beams for extreme selective dose delivery in cancer therapy by Katalin Hideghéty which explored the promise of laser-accelerated electrons, protons, and neutrons for highly targeted cancer treatment. These ultra-precise beams offer the potential to minimise damage to healthy tissue while delivering powerful doses to tumors.

Complementary, a first biological experiment using multi-shot laser-driven proton beams was presented by Pavel Blaha. In these early studies, researchers exposed human skin cells to short, repeated bursts of laser-accelerated protons to investigate how the cells respond to this type of radiation. The results showed clear signs of DNA damage, which is expected in cancer treatment research, and also suggested that the cells began trying to repair themselves even during the irradiation process.

Both of these experiments showcase the potential of using laser-driven particle beams for more targeted and advanced cancer therapies in the future.

The ELI booth at SPIE

“It’s exciting to see the increasing scientific outputs of ELI,” says Daniele Margarone, Director of Research and Operations at ELI Beamlines. “Our presence not only reflects the maturity of our laser systems and user offers, but also the potential of the science being enabled—from compact radiation sources to biomedical applications. We’re entering a new phase where high-power lasers are no longer experimental tools but precision instruments for real-world applications.”

ELI’s strong presence at SPIE 2025 demonstrates the growing results of the open-access research facility. With state-of-the-art lasers, unique experimental platforms, and a dynamic international user community, ELI is applying increasingly collaborative, application-driven developments which are contributing to solving real-world challenges in medicine, materials, and beyond.