Precompensation of gain nonuniformity in a Nd:glass amplifier using a programmable beam-shaping system

OPTICS COMMUNICATIONS

卷:333

Article

Bahk, S. -W.¹  Begishev, I. A.¹  Zuegel, J. D.¹ 

[1] Univ Rochester, Laser Energet Lab, Rochester, NY 14623 USA

关键词: Beam shaping;    Spatial light modulator;    Laser amplifier;    Optical parametric chirped pulse amplification;    Nd:glass;    High energy laser;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.optcom.2014.07.054

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

A programmable liquid crystal beam-shaping system was installed for a 200-mJ optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system front end and was applied to dramatically improve the beam uniformity in the subsequent amplifier. A highly nonuniform beam profile caused by gain inhomogeneity in the amplifier was pre-compensated by the beam shaping system using significantly improved open-loop and closed-loop algorithms. The details of the improved algorithms will be described. The issues of running a liquid crystal device with a high-energy, ultrashort-pulse laser, such as damage risk and temporal contrast degradation, will be addressed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free