Reduction of Backward Scatterings at the Low-Coherence Kunwu Laser Facility.

We report the first experimental observation on the reduction of backward scatterings by an instantaneous broadband laser with 0.6% bandwidth in conditions of interest for inertial confinement fusion at the low-coherence Kunwu laser facility. The backscatter of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) was robustly reduced by half at intensities of 1-5×10^{14} W/cm^{2} with the 0.53-µm broadband laser in comparison with the monochromatic laser. As SBS dominates energy loss of laser-plasma interactions, the reduction of that demonstrates the enhancement of laser-target coupling by the use of broadband laser. The mitigation of filamentation leads to the reduction of stimulated Raman backscattering at low intensities. In addition, the three-halves harmonic emission was reduced with the broadband laser as well.

Laser cooling by over 7†K in Yb-doped ZBLAN fibers with high-power pumping at atmospheric pressure.

Anti-Stokes fluorescence (ASF) cooling has been demonstrated to be a viable method for balancing the waste heat produced in gain materials. In addition, radiation-balanced fiber lasers and amplifiers at atmospheric pressure have recently been developed. Here, we evaluate the cooling characteristics in a long section of a Yb-doped ZBLAN fiber with high pump power. The fiber has a 200-µm-diameter core and is doped with 3 wt. % Yb3+. As indicated by a thermal camera, cooling by over 7 K below ambient temperature was achieved by core pumping at 1030 nm. The temperature drop distribution at multiple measurement points in the fiber was evaluated with a maximum pump power of tens of watts. The results demonstrate the excellent ASF cooling performance of Yb-doped ZBLAN fibers. This study has great significance for the development of high-power radiation-balanced fiber lasers.

Low coherence laser pulse amplification theory for rare earth ions doped glass medium.

A new theory for the low coherence laser amplification in rare ions doped glass has been proposed. Based on one-dimensional continuous energy level assumption and independent response assumption, the theory can describe the amplification of low coherence laser pulses with any time scale and any bandwidth. By the new theory, McCumber formula can be obtained, and a complete low coherence optical pulse amplification model in neodymium glass is established. Computation shows that at high fluences, inhomogeneous broadening will severely limit energy extraction of narrowband high coherence laser, therefore the extraction of broadband low coherence laser will exceed that of narrowband high coherence laser. In addition, the portion of long-wave of the output spectrum is slightly larger than that predicted by the homogeneous model. The new theory could be beneficial for the studies of low coherence pulse amplification in rare earth doped medium and other laser mediums.

Fast time-evolving random polarization beam smoothing for laser-driven inertial confinement fusion.

We propose a random polarization smoothing method for low-coherence laser to obtain focal spot with random polarization that evolves rapidly in sub-picosecond timescales. Random polarization smoothing is realized by a half-aperture wave plate with sufficient thickness. The degree of polarization and polarization evolution of the focal spot are studied theoretically. The calculation results show that random polarization smoothing can make the polarization of focal spot evolve rapidly and randomly in time and space. Experimentally, the polarization of the focal spot of low-coherence laser with random polarization smoothing is measured by a single-shot polarimeter. The measurement results show that the degree of polarization of the focal spot is reduced to 0.22 on average, which proves the effectiveness of random polarization smoothing. The random polarization smoothing technique on low-coherence laser is expected to reduce the laser plasmas instability through its multi-dimensional random evolution properties.

Full-aperture random polarization smoothing for a low-coherence laser facility.

Two new random polarization smoothing methods using full-aperture elements are proposed on low-coherence lasers, one using birefringent wedge and one using flat birefringent plate. By designing the crystal axis direction and wedge angle of the birefringent plates, the methods can selectively introduce time delay and spatial displacement, so as to obtain fast random evolution of transient polarization by utilizing low spatiotemporal coherence of the laser focal field. Both methods avoid the near field discontinuity and can be used under high fluence. The method using birefringent wedge can slightly improve focal spot uniformity, and the method using flat birefringent plate can obtain non-polarization with DOP lower than 2%. Theoretical studies show that the resulting focal polarization evolves rapidly on sub-picosecond timescales and rapidly covers the entire Poincaré sphere. The method using birefringent wedge is achieved in experiment. The results show that the degree of polarization of the focal spot is reduced from 1 to 0.27, which proves the effectiveness of the full-aperture random polarization smoothing. The full-aperture random polarization smoothing can generate a focal field very close to unpolarized thermal light, which is expected to suppress the laser plasmas instability.

High-power, low-coherence laser driver facility.

We report the first (to the best of our knowledge) high-power, low-coherence Nd:glass laser delivering kilojoule pulses with a coherent time of 249 fs and a bandwidth of 13 nm, achieving the 63%-efficiency second-harmonic conversion of the large-aperture low-coherence pulse and good beam smoothing effect. It provides a new type of laser driver for laser plasma interaction and high energy density physics research.

Experiment and theory of beam smoothing using induced spatial incoherence with a lens array.

The smoothing effect of induced spatial incoherence combined with a lens array on a large-bandwidth and short-coherence-time laser is reported. A theoretical model based on statistical optics is developed to describe the spatial and temporal characteristics of the focal spot. Theoretical simulation is consistent with the experimental results. A method was proposed to remove or reduce the residual interference fringes of the experimental focal spot, and both the simulation and analysis show that this method does not affect the smoothing speed of the focal spot.

High-efficiency second-harmonic generation of low-temporal-coherent light pulse.

The nonlinear frequency conversion of low-temporal-coherent light holds a variety of applications and has attracted considerable interest. However, its physical mechanism remains relatively unexplored, and the conversion efficiency and bandwidth are extremely insufficient. Here, considering the instantaneous broadband characteristics, we establish a model of second-harmonic generation (SHG) of a low-temporal-coherent pulse and reveal its differences from the coherent conditions. It is found that the second-harmonic spectrum distribution is proportional to the self-convolution of that of a fundamental wave. Because of this, we propose a method for realizing low-temporal-coherent SHG with high efficiency and broad bandwidth, and experimentally demonstrate a conversion efficiency up to 70% with a bandwidth of 3.1 THz (2.9 nm centered at 528 nm). To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest efficiency and broadest bandwidth of low-temporal-coherent SHG to date. Our research opens the door for the study of low-coherent nonlinear optical processes.

Beam smoothing by a diffraction-weakened lens array combining with induced spatial incoherence.

The smoothing scheme combining a diffraction-weakened lens array with the induced spatial incoherence method is proposed and demonstrated to be an efficient smoothing scheme for broadband laser systems. In our simulation, the RMS illumination nonuniformity of the target spot is reduced to 2% after sufficient smoothing time. The temporal characteristics and spatial power spectral density of the scheme are theoretically analyzed. When the incident light has intensity fluctuations, the uniformity of the target spot is stable, which means a robust smoothing scheme, and which predicts practical applications to the smoothing of broadband laser systems.

Temperature-insensitive frequency conversion by phase mismatch self-compensation in the same type of crystals.

Aiming at high-power laser frequency conversion, we present a new scheme that can self-compensate for the thermally induced phase mismatch. The basic design of the scheme is that three crystals with the same type are cascaded, of which the crystals at both ends are used for frequency conversion and the middle crystal is used for compensating phase mismatch. By configuring the polarization states of the interacting waves in the middle crystal, the sign of the first temperature derivative of the phase mismatch is opposite to that of the frequency conversion crystals. The thermally induced phase mismatch in the first crystal can thus be self-compensated in the middle crystal. To verify the utility of the proposed scheme, we experimentally demonstrated temperature-insensitive second and third harmonic generation using KH2PO4 crystals. The results show that the temperature acceptance bandwidth is about two times larger than that of using a single crystal. Since the crystals used are of the same type, this scheme has excellent universal applicability and is almost completely free from the limitations of the laser wavelength, crystal and phase-matching type. Therefore, the scheme can be widely applied to various frequency conversion processes and is scarcely any limitations.

Noncritically phase-matched fourth-harmonic generation of Nd:glass lasers and design of final optics assembly.

The noncritically phase-matched (NCPM) fourth-harmonic generation (FHG) with partially deuterated dihydrogen phosphate (KD*P) crystal at an Nd:glass laser radiation wavelength of 1053.1 nm has been confirmed. NCPM FHG has been achieved in 70% and 65% deuterated KD*P crystal at the temperature of 17.7°C and 29.3°C, respectively. The angular acceptance of 70% and 65% deuterated KD*P crystals fixed at their NCPM temperature were measured, which were 53 and 55 mrad, respectively. The application of the NCPM FHG in a high-power laser facility for inertial confinement fusion is also discussed. Based on the theoretical analysis, the NCPM KD*P can be placed after the focus lens; thus, the laser-induced damage of a fused-silica lens at ultraviolet can be avoided.

Studies on design of 351 nm focal plane diagnostic system prototype and focusing characteristic of SGII-upgraded facility at half achievable energy performance.

In order to obtain the intensity distribution of a 351 nm focal spot and smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) focal plane profile of a SGII-upgraded facility, a type of off-axis imaging system with three spherical mirrors, suitable for a finite distance source point to be imaged near the diffraction limit has been designed. The quality factor of the image system is 1.6 times of the diffraction limit tested by a 1053 nm point source. Because of the absence of a 351 nm point source, we can use a Collins diffraction imaging integral with respect to λ=351 nm, corresponding to a quality factor that is 3.8 times the diffraction limit at 351 nm. The calibration results show that at least the range of ±10 mrad of view field angle and ±50 mm along the axial direction around the optimum object distance can be satisfied with near diffraction limited image that is consistent with the design value. Using this image system, the No. 2 beam of the SGII-upgraded facility has been tested. The test result of the focal spot of final optics assembly (FOA) at 351 nm indicates that about 80% of energy is encompassed in 14.1 times the diffraction limit, while the output energy of the No. 2 beam is 908 J at 1053 nm. According to convolution theorem, the true value of a 351 nm focal spot of FOA is about 12 times the diffraction limit because of the influence of the quality factor. Further experimental studies indicate that the RMS value along the smoothing direction is less than 15.98% in the SSD spot test experiment. Computer simulations show that the quality factor of the image system used in the experiment has almost no effect on the SSD focal spot test. The image system can remarkably distort the SSD focal spot distribution under the circumstance of the quality factor 15 times worse than the diffraction limit. The distorted image shows a steep slope in the contour of the SSD focal spot along the smoothing direction that otherwise has a relatively flat top region around the focal spot center.

Investigation of phase effects of coherent beam combining for large-aperture ultrashort ultrahigh intensity laser systems.

Large-aperture ultrashort ultrahigh intensity laser systems are able to achieve unprecedented super-high peak power. However, output power from a single laser channel is not high enough for some important applications and it is difficult to improve output power from a single laser channel significantly in the near future. Coherent beam combining is a promising method which combines many laser channels to obtain much higher peak power than a single channel. In this work, phase effects of coherent beam combining for large-aperture ultrashort laser systems are investigated theoretically. A series of numerical simulations are presented to obtain the requirements of spatial phase for specific goals and the changing trends of requirements for different pulse durations and number of channels. The influence of wavefront distortion on coherent beam combining is also discussed. Some advice is proposed for improving the performance of combining. In total, this work could help to design a practical large-aperture ultrashort ultrahigh intensity laser system in the future.