Online determination of the source of stray light in the SG-III high-power laser facility

Abstract

Stray light in high-power laser facilities not only decreases the gain capacity of the main amplifier, but can also cause permanent damage to optical components, greatly threatening the safety operation of the SG-III. This Letter reports a technique for quickly pinpointing the source of stray light in the main amplification optical path of the SG-III. The achieved results indicate that the accuracy of our method is up to 1 m in an optical path of 100 m. The judging method is effective for examining and removing harmful stray light in the SG-III laser facility and it can be promoted in huge laser facilities of this kind.