Nano- and subnanosecond laser pulses with a controllable temporal shape and spectral composition of the radiation

Abstract

A laser system that generates nano- and subnanosecond laser pulses with temporal and spectral profiling has been developed and experimentally tested. The system’s operating principle is based on selection of the spectral components in a device for stretching femtosecond laser pulses to a few nanoseconds and spectral ordering of the radiation (a stretcher). Laser pulses have been experimentally obtained with steep leading and trailing edges (less than 100ps). The amplification of such pulses in a regenerative amplifier with a physical gain of 6×1017 to an energy level of ≈5mJ is investigated.