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At least 433 records · Page 24

Methodology for designing grism stretchers for idler-based optical parametric chirped-pulse-amplification systems

Powerful ultrafast lasers with wavelengths above 1 mm are in demand to create attosecond pulses and ultra-intense laser sources. A promising technology to achieve these laser sources uses the by-product from an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier, known as the idler. Compression of the idler to high peak powers requires a grism stretcher and a grating compressor. Grism stretchers have many more design parameters than conventional stretchers, complicating the design process. This paper presents a method for designing a grism stretcher and grating compressor that logically navigates the design process. This method was applied to design a grism stretcher for the optical parametric amplifier line that is under construction at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics to produce a 50-mJ, 115-fs pulse at 1170 nm.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

12W laser amplification at 1427nm on the 4 F 3/2 to 4 I 13/2 spectral line in an Nd 3+ doped fused silica optical fiber

A 9.3dB improvement in optical gain and a 100x improvement in total optical power over prior published experimental results from the 4 F 3/2 to 4 I 13/2 transition in an Nd 3+ doped fused silica optical fiber is demonstrated. This is enabled via an optical fiber waveguide design that creates high spectral attenuation in the 1050-1120nm-wavelength range, a continuous spectral filter for the primary 4 F 3/2 to 4 I 11/2 optical transition. A maximum output power at 1427nm of 1.2W was attained for 43mW coupled seed laser power and 22.2W of coupled pump diode laser power at 880nm a net optical gain of 14.5dB. Reducing the coupled seed laser power to 2.5mW enabled the system to attain 19.3dB of gain for 16.5W of coupled pump power. Four issues limited results; non-optimal seed laser wavelength, amplified spontaneous emission on the 4 F 3/2 to 4 I 9/2 optical transition, low absorption of pump light from the cladding and high spectral attenuation in the 1350-1450nm range. Lastly, future fibers that mitigate these issues should lead to significant improvements in the efficiency of the laser amplifier, though the shorter wavelength region of the transition from 1310nm to >1350nm is still expected to be limited by excited state absorption.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Amplification of 10 μm picosecond pulses in a compact optically pumped multiatmosphere CO 2 laser

Picosecond pulses, generated by a commercial mid-IR optical parametric source (∼0.5 ps, 1-5 μJ), have been regeneratively amplified to an energy of ≤2 mJ in a palm-size high-pressure CO 2 amplifier optically pumped by a Q-switched 2.8 μm Cr:Er:YSGG laser. The characteristics of the amplified pulses have been studied as a function of seed wavelength centered around 10.3 or 10.6 μm, and the pressure in the gain medium. The measured amplified pulse length is ∼5 ps. Numerical modeling suggests that pulses as short as ∼0.5 ps with multi-GW peak power can be generated in a mixture of CO 2 isotopes. Robustness of the output of a compact CO 2 regenerative amplifier to the seed and pump fluctuations measured at 3 Hz and a perfect Gaussian beam profile indicates the potential of such laser technology for producing high-power ultrashort long-wave infrared pulses at high repetition rates.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Yb:Lu 2 O 3 single-crystal fiber: spectroscopy, amplification, and lasing

For the first time, to our knowledge, a lutetium oxide (Lu 2 O 3 ) single-crystal fiber (SCF) laser is demonstrated. The laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) technique was used to pull Yb-doped Lu 2 O 3 SCFs between 10 and 50 mm long and with diameters between 150 and 225 μm. Spectroscopic properties are first reported in detail, as the two-site nature of the host demands careful attention. Short 10 mm long, unclad fibers were used as amplifier media in a single pass copropagating configuration. Then, a 50 mm long 0.1%Yb:Lu 2 O 3 SCF with a 180 μm diameter was configured to lase by butt-coupling mirrors on the ends and pumping at 976 nm. Lasing occurred at the 1033 nm peak of Yb, and a maximum output of around 300 mW is reported. Finally, the results indicate there is no, at least obvious, fundamental reason that should deter future interest in Lu 2 O 3 as a SCF platform, which has been considered to have high potential for power scaling based on its beneficial intrinsic properties.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Study of Electron Transport and Amplification in Diamond

As a successful completion of this award, my group has demonstrated world-leading electron gain from diamond for use in a diamond-amplified photocathode. Also, using high-resolution photoemission measurements we were able to uncover exciting new physics of the electron emission mechanisms from hydrogen terminated diamond. Our work, through the continued support of HEP, has resulted in a greater understanding of the diamond material science, including current limits, charge transport modeling, and spatial uniformity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Study of Electron Transport and Amplification in Diamond

The development of the Diamond Amplified Photocathode (DAP) has produced significant results under our previous HEP funded efforts both on the fabrication of working devices and the understanding of the underlying physics governing its performance. The results presented here substantiate the use of diamond as both a secondary electron amplifier for high-brightness, high-average-current electron sources and as a photon and particle detector in harsh radiation environments. Very high average current densities (>10A/cm2) have been transported through diamond material. The transport has been measured as a function of incident photon energy and found to be in good agreement with theoretical models. Measurements of the charge transport for photon energies near the carbon K-edge (290 eV for sp3 bonded carbon) have provided insight into carrier loss due to diffusion; modeling of this aspect of charge transport is underway. The response of diamond to nanosecond x-ray pulses has been measured; in this regime the charge transport is as expected. Electron emission from hydrogenated diamond has been measured using both electron and x-ray generated carriers; a gain of 178 has been observed for electron-generated carriers. The energy spectrum of the emitted electrons has been measured, providing insight into the electron affinity and ultimately the thermal emittance. The origin of charge trapping in diamond has been investigated for both bulk and surface trapping

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Pressure Amplification Off High Impedance Barriers in DDT

The Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition (DDT) in one-dimensional porous explosive, where combustion in an explosive transitions to detonation, can be described by the following model. This simplified model proceeds in five steps, as follows: 1) Ignition of the explosive, surface burning. 2) Convective burning, with the flame front penetrating through the porous network of the explosive. This proceeds until the pressure grows high enough to result in choked flow in the pores restricting the convective burn. 3) The choked flow results in the formation of a high-density compact of explosive. This compact is driven into undisturbed material by the pressure of the burning explosive. See Figure1. 4) The compression of the undisturbed porous explosive by the compact leads to the ignition of a compressive burn. This builds in pressure until a supported shock forms. 5) The shock builds in pressure until detonation occurs. See Figure 2 for an overview streak of the proceeding steps.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗