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

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics communications 2014-12, Vol.333, p.45-52
Main Authors: Bahk, S.-W., Begishev, I.A., Zuegel, J.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Beam shaping
High energy laser
Laser amplifier
Nd:glass
Optical parametric chirped pulse amplification
Spatial light modulator
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0030-4018
1873-0310
DOI:10.1016/j.optcom.2014.07.054