Focal spot smoothing and tailoring for high-power laser applications

David A. Pepler; Colin N. Danson; R. Bann; Ian N. Ross; R. M. Stevenson; M. J. Norman; M. Desselberger; Oswald Willi

doi:10.1117/12.154491

1 May 1993 Focal spot smoothing and tailoring for high-power laser applications

David A. Pepler, Colin N. Danson, R. Bann, Ian N. Ross, R. M. Stevenson, M. J. Norman, M. Desselberger, Oswald Willi

Proceedings Volume 1870, Laser Coherence Control: Technology and Applications; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.154491
Event: OE/LASE'93: Optics, Electro-Optics, and Laser Applications in Scienceand Engineering, 1993, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

The smoothing of focal plane distributions of high-power lasers is of particular importance to laser-plasma interaction studies. There are many techniques used to achieve the smoothing and this paper presents an overview of the methods as applied on the VULCAN high power Nd:glass laser at the Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. These have played an important part in high-power laser-plasma interaction experiments into fusion studies, energy transport, filamentation etc. These smoothing techniques all involve placing an optical component in the laser beam to produce either a spatial, temporal, or spectral modification of the laser pulse and these are discussed under the topics of Random Phase Plates (RPP), Induced Spatial Incoherence (ISI), and Smoothing by Spectral Dispersion (SSD). We also describe techniques for tailoring the focal profile using RPPs.

Citation Download Citation

David A. Pepler, Colin N. Danson, R. Bann, Ian N. Ross, R. M. Stevenson, M. J. Norman, M. Desselberger, and Oswald Willi "Focal spot smoothing and tailoring for high-power laser applications", Proc. SPIE 1870, Laser Coherence Control: Technology and Applications, (1 May 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.154491

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