Complete characterization of a plasma mirror for the production of high-contrast ultraintense laser pulses

Improving the temporal contrast of ultrashort and ultraintense laser pulses is a major technical issue for high-field experiments. This can be achieved using a so-called "plasma mirror." We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the plasma mirror that allows us to quantit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics, 2004-02, Vol.69 (2 Pt 2), p.026402-026402, Article 026402
Main Authors: Doumy, G, Quéré, F, Gobert, O, Perdrix, M, Martin, Ph, Audebert, P, Gauthier, J C, Geindre, J-P, Wittmann, T
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Improving the temporal contrast of ultrashort and ultraintense laser pulses is a major technical issue for high-field experiments. This can be achieved using a so-called "plasma mirror." We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the plasma mirror that allows us to quantitatively assess the performances of this system. Our experimental results include time-resolved measurements of the plasma mirror reflectivity, and of the phase distortions it induces on the reflected beam. Using an antireflection coated plate as a target, an improvement of the contrast ratio by more than two orders of magnitude can be achieved with a single plasma mirror. We demonstrate that this system is very robust against changes in the pulse fluence and imperfections of the beam spatial profile, which is essential for applications.
ISSN:1539-3755
1550-2376
DOI:10.1103/physreve.69.026402