Abstract
Abstract Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification implemented using multikilojoule Nd:glass pump lasers is a promising approach for producing ultra-intense pulses (>1023 W/cm2). We report on the MTW-OPAL Laser System, an optical parametric amplifier line (OPAL) pumped by the Nd:doped portion of the multi-terawatt (MTW) laser. This midscale prototype was designed to produce 0.5-PW pulses with technologies scalable to tens of petawatts. Technology choices made for MTW-OPAL were guided by the longer-term goal of two full-scale OPALs pumped by the OMEGA EP to produce 2 × 25-PW beams that would be co-located with kilojoule−nanosecond ultraviolet beams. Several MTW-OPAL campaigns that have been completed since “first light” in March 2020 show that the laser design is fundamentally sound, and optimization continues as we prepare for “first-focus” campaigns later this year.
Highlights
Ultra-intense laser systems are being developed by a number of institutions to use the full potential of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) for high-energy optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA)[1,2,3,4,5]
This paper reports on the multi-terawatt (MTW) optical parametric amplifier line (OPAL) laser system, a midscale OPAL pumped by the MTW laser, where the long-term goal is building the EP-OPAL a femtosecond−kilojoule system to add to the OMEGA Laser Facility
MTWOPAL was designed to produce 7.5-J, 15-fs pulses and demonstrate technologies that are suitable for kilojoule allOPCPA systems that could be pumped by OMEGA EP
Summary
Ultra-intense laser systems are being developed by a number of institutions to use the full potential of deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) for high-energy optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA)[1,2,3,4,5]. Noncollinear optical parametric amplifiers (NOPAs) based on large DKDP crystals produce broadband gain for supporting pulses as short as 10 fs. This paper reports on the multi-terawatt (MTW) optical parametric amplifier line (OPAL) laser system, a midscale OPAL pumped by the MTW laser, where the long-term goal is building the EP-OPAL a femtosecond−kilojoule system to add to the OMEGA Laser Facility. MTWOPAL was designed to produce 7.5-J, 15-fs pulses and demonstrate technologies that are suitable for kilojoule allOPCPA systems that could be pumped by OMEGA EP. In addition to being a critical platform for laser development, the MTW-OPAL laser shares a target area with the existing MTW Laser System (50 J, 1 to 100 ps) and the auxiliary laser for the underdense plasma chamber (UDP-E, 527 nm, 5 J, 2 ns), making possible several jointshot configurations
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