The Continuum laser business unit of GSI Group Inc. was awarded a $4.8 million contract from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) to deliver a 400-J amplifier section for use in the Apollon high-energy laser program developed by the Institut de la Lumière Extrême, GSI announced. The Apollon laser is designed to be the world’s first 10-petawatt femtosecond pulsed output sapphire laser system. The award is the result of a four-year program, funded in part by the French government, to develop a compact, high-energy laser pump module that operates at typical repetition rates approximately 20 times faster than conventional high-energy laser glass pump modules. The award recognizes team effort by the Continuum team, the Laboratory of Laser Energetics of the University of Rochester, and National Energetics, a chirped-pulse amplification technology company based in Austin, Texas. GSI Group supplies laser-based solutions, precision motion control devices, optical controls, precision technologies and semiconductor systems for the scientific, electronics, medical and industrial markets. For more information, visit: www.gsig.com