The Titania laser system, based around a 42 cm e-beam pumped KrF ampli
fier, is currently being installed at the Rutherford Appleton Laborato
ry and will come on line as a user facility in 1996. Like Sprite, its
predecessor, it will operate in both CPA (249 nm) and Raman (268 nm) s
hort-pulse modes, delivering up to 10 TW to target in high-quality bea
ms. With brightness expected to reach 10(21) W cm(-2) sterad(-1), it w
ill be the world's brightest ultraviolet laser. The design of the Tita
nia system includes a number of novel features. The multi-pass Ti:sapp
hire front-end amplifier uses an unusual beam-folding scheme. The Rama
n system will involve the first application of Raman multiplexing, com
bining high KrF efficiency with low transport cost. Reflective coating
s with very high damage thresholds are being developed for the CPA com
pressor gratings and the UV transport optics. A windowless configurati
on for the final Raman amplifier is presently under analysis, to allow
the performance of this maximally stressed component to be extended s
ubstantially. Finally the design of the Titania e-beam machine, featur
ing novel split-cathode diodes, has resulted in unusually high efficie
ncy of electron transport into the laser gas. The laser's infrastructu
re has involved sophisticated mechanical and electrical design, and a
computerized diagnostic, control and safety package is being developed
to allow one-man operation of the whole 1000 m(2) installation.