Updates on the construction and commissioning of the ZEUS facility

Construction of the Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) is currently near completion at the University of Michigan, where it is being established as the National Science Foundation mid-scale user facility. ZEUS comprises a repetitive dual-beamline 3 PW laser system, a programmable shape multi-ns pulse driver capable of delivering 100 J of energy, three experimental areas with radiation shielding, and offers unique capabilities for studying various fields such as nonlinear quantum electrodynamics, relativistic plasmas, particle acceleration, extreme laboratory astrophysics, and nuclear photonics. This presentation will provide the update on the progress of the ZEUS facility's construction, which includes building renovation, laser, vacuum beam lines and switch yards installation, experimental chambers setup, radiation shielding implementation, as well as the results of the initial commissioning experiment on the laser wakefield electron acceleration and betatron radiation generation at a 200 TW level.