E. M. Hill

Fiber Front End With Multiple Phase Modulations and High-Bandwidth Pulse Shaping for High-Energy Laser-Beam Smoothing

The design and performance of a fiber front end delivering temporally shaped, phase-modulated optical pulses to a large-scale, high-energy laser system to demonstrate beam-smoothing concepts are presented. High-bandwidth LiNbO3 (lithium niobate) Mach-Zehnder modulators and arbitrary waveform generators temporally shape the power of the optical pulses. High-bandwidth, three-section LiNbO3 phase modulators precisely modulate the optical phase of the pulses at up to three microwave frequencies. Various calibration procedures and fail-safe systems are described. Sources of frequency-modulation-to-amplitude-modulation conversion, which can lead to unsafe operation of the high-energy laser system, are identified and compensated by amplitude and dispersion compensators.

Deployment of a spatial light modulator-based beam-shaping system on the OMEGA EP laser

A beam-shaping system, based on a liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulator, has been deployed on two of the long-pulse UV beamlines of the OMEGA EP laser. Simultaneous control of both amplitude and phase with a single spatial light modulator is possible by encoding intensity information on a high-frequency carrier phase, which is subsequently removed by a low-pass spatial filter. The beam-shaping system has been integrated into operations of the existing front-end laser source and has demonstrated improved beam uniformity at multiple points in the laser. The system operates in closed loop to optimize the input infrared beam’s spatial-amplitude profile prior to amplification and frequency conversion. Measured amplified beam profiles from near-field cameras along the laser beam’s path are used to specify the desired input infrared beam shape. The system is used to correct local hot spots in the input beam profile and to refine the amplifier gain precompensation profile that is applied to the input beam with separate static apodizers. At present, the beam-shaping system is used only to correct amplitude variations in the beam profile, but future use may also utilize the system’s capability to apply wavefront corrections to the beam.

Commissioning of a multiple-frequency modulation smoothing by spectral dispersion demonstration system on OMEGA EP

A one-dimensional smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) demonstration system for smoothing focal-spot nonuniformities using multiple modulation frequencies (multi-FM SSD) was commissioned on one long-pulse beamline of OMEGA EP—the first use of such a system in a high-energy laser. System models of frequency modulation-to-amplitude modulation (FM-to-AM) conversion in the OMEGA EP beamline and final optics were used to develop an AM budget. The AM budget in turn provided a UV power limit of 0.85 TW, based on accumulation of B-integral in the final optics. The front end of the demonstration system utilized a National Ignition Facility preamplifier module (PAM) with a custom SSD grating inserted into the PAM’s multipass amplifier section. The dispersion of the SSD grating was selected to cleanly propagate the dispersed SSD bandwidth through various pinholes in the system while maintaining sufficient focal-spot smoothing performance. A commissioning plan was executed that systematically introduced the new features of the demonstration system into OMEGA EP. Ultimately, the OMEGA EP beamline was ramped to the UV power limit with various pulse shapes. The front-end system was designed to provide flexibility in pulse shaping. Various combinations of pickets and nanosecond-scale drive pulses were demonstrated, with multi-FM SSD selectively applied to portions of the pulse. Analysis of the dispersion measured by the far-field diagnostics at the outputs of the infrared beamline and the frequency-conversion crystals indicated that the SSD modulation spectrum was maintained through both the beamline and the frequency-conversion process. At the completion of the plan, a series of equivalent-target-plane measurements with distributed phase plates installed were conducted that confirmed the expected timeintegrated smoothing of the focal spot.

Single-shot high-resolution characterization of optical pulses by spectral phase diversity.

The concept of spectral phase diversity is proposed and applied to the temporal characterization of optical pulses. The experimental trace is composed of the measured power of a plurality of ancillary optical pulses derived from the pulse under test by adding known amounts of chromatic dispersion. The spectral phase of the pulse under test is retrieved by minimizing the error between the experimental trace and a trace calculated using the known optical spectrum and diagnostic parameters. An assembly composed of splitters and dispersive delay fibers has been used to generate 64 ancillary pulses whose instantaneous power can be detected in a single shot with a high-bandwidth photodiode and oscilloscope. The diagnostic is experimentally shown to accurately characterize pulses from a chirped-pulse-amplification system when its stretcher is detuned from the position for optimal recompression. Pulse-shape reconstruction for pulses shorter than the photodetection impulse response has been demonstrated. Various investigations of the performance with respect to the number of ancillary pulses and the range of chromatic dispersion generated in the diagnostic are presented.

Simulations of the propagation of multiple-FM smoothing by spectral dispersion on OMEGA EP

A one-dimensional (1-D) smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) system for smoothing focal-spot nonuniformities using multiple modulation frequencies has been commissioned on one long-pulse beamline of OMEGA EP, the first use of such a system in a high-energy laser. Frequency modulation (FM) to amplitude modulation (AM) conversion in the infrared (IR) output, frequency conversion, and final optics affected the accumulation of B-integral in that beamline. Modeling of this FM-to-AM conversion using the code Miró [Morice, O., “Miró: Complete modeling and software for pulse amplification and propagation in high-power laser systems,” Opt. Eng. 42(6), 1530−1541 (2003).] was used as input to set the beamline performance limits for picket (short) pulses with multi-FM SSD applied. This article first describes that modeling. The 1-D SSD analytical model of Chuang [Chuang, Y.-H., “Amplification of broad-bandwidth phase-modulated laser counterpropagating light waves in homogeneous plasma,” Ph.D. thesis, University of Rochester (September 1991).] is first extended to the case of multiple modulators and then used to benchmark Miró simulations. Comparison is also made to an alternative analytic model developed by Hocquet et al. [Hocquet, S., Penninckx, D., Bordenave, E., Gouédard, C. and Jaouën, Y., “FM-to-AM conversion in high-power lasers,” Appl. Opt. 47(18), 3338−3349 (2008).] With the confidence engendered by this benchmarking, Miró results for multi-FM SSD applied on OMEGA EP are then presented. The relevant output section(s) of the OMEGA EP Laser System are described. The additional B-integral in OMEGA EP IR components upstream of the frequency converters due to AM is modeled. The importance of locating the image of the SSD dispersion grating at the frequency converters is demonstrated. Finally, since frequency conversion is not performed in OMEGA EP’s target chamber, the additional AM due to propagation to the target chamber’s vacuum window is modeled.

The multiple-pulse driver line on the OMEGA laser

The multiple-pulse driver line (MPD) provides on-shot co-propagation of two separate pulse shapes in all 60 OMEGA beams at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The two co-propagating pulse shapes would typically be (1) a series of 100-ps “picket” pulses followed by (2) a longer square or shaped “drive” pulse. Smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD), which increases the laser bandwidth, can be applied to either one of the two pulse shapes. Therefore, MPD allows for dynamic bandwidth reduction, where the bandwidth is applied only to the picket portion of a pulse shape. Since the use of SSD decreases the efficiency of frequency conversion from the IR to the UV, dynamic bandwidth reduction provides an increase in the drive-pulse energy. The design of the MPD required careful consideration of beam combination as well as the minimum pulse separation for two pulses generated by two separate sources. A new combined-pulse-shape diagnostic needed to be designed and installed after the last grating used for SSD. This new driver-line flexibility is built into the OMEGA front end as one component of the initiative to mitigate cross-beam energy transfer on target and to demonstrate hydro-equivalent ignition on the OMEGA laser at LLE.

Measuring 8–250 ps short pulses using a high-speed streak camera on kilojoule, petawatt-class laser systems

Short-pulse measurements using a streak camera are sensitive to space-charge broadening, which depends on the pulse duration and shape, and on the uniformity of photocathode illumination. An anamorphic-diffuser-based beam-homogenizing system and a space-charge-broadening calibration method were developed to accurately measure short pulses using an optical streak camera. This approach provides a more-uniform streak image and enables one to characterize space-charge-induced pulse-broadening effects.

Single-shot temporal characterization of kilojoule-level, picosecond pulses on OMEGA EP

To achieve a variety of experimental conditions, the OMEGA EP laser provides kilojoule-level pulses over a pulse-width range of 0.6 to 100 ps. Precise knowledge of the pulse width is important for laser system safety and the interpretation of experimental results. This paper describes the development and implementation of a single-shot, ultrashort-pulse measurement diagnostic, which provides an accurate characterization of the output pulse shape. We present a brief overview of the measurement algorithm; discuss design considerations necessary for implementation in a complex, userfacility environment; and review the results of the diagnostic commissioning shots, which demonstrated excellent agreement with predictions.

Spectrally tunable, temporally shaped parametric front end to seed high-energy Nd:glass laser systems

We describe a parametric-amplification-based front end for seeding high-energy Nd:glass laser systems. The front end delivers up to 200 mJ by parametric amplification in 2.5-ns flat-in-time pulses tunable over more than 15 nm. Spectral tunability over a range larger than what is typically achieved by laser media at similar energy levels is implemented to investigate cross-beam energy transfer in multibeam target experiments. The front-end operation is simulated to explain the amplified signals sensitivity to the input pump and signal. A large variety of amplified waveforms are generated by closed-loop pulse shaping. Various properties and limitations of this front end are discussed.

A picosecond beam-timing system for the OMEGA laser

A timing system is demonstrated for the OMEGA Laser System that guarantees all 60 beams will arrive on target simultaneously with a root mean square variability of 4 ps. The system relies on placing a scattering sphere at the target position to couple the ultraviolet light from each beam into a single photodetector.