We report on the investigation of intermode beating mode-locked (IBML) pulse generation in a simple all-fiber Tm$^{3+}$-doped double clad fiber laser (TDFL). This IBML TDFL is implemented by matching longitudinal-mode frequency between 793 nm laser and TDFL without extra mode locker. The central wavelength of ${\sim}1983~\text{nm}$, the fundamental pulse frequency of ${\sim}9.6~\text{MHz}$ and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of ${>}50~\text{dB}$ are achieved in this IBML TDFL. With laser cavity optimization, the IBML TDFL can finally generate an average output power of 1.03 W with corresponding pulse energy of ${\sim}107~\text{nJ}$. These results can provide an easily accessible way to develop compact large-energy, high-power TDFLs.

To generate optical vortex with multiple topological charges, a simple scheme based on the phase mask shaping technique is proposed and applied in a seeded free electron laser. With a tailored phase mask, an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) vortex with multiple topological charges can be produced. To prove the feasibility of this method, an eight-step phase mask is designed to shape the seed laser. The simulation results demonstrate that 100-MW, fully coherent EUV vortex pulses with topological charge 2 can be generated based on the proposed technique. We have also demonstrated the possibility of generating higher topological charges by using a phase mask with more steps.

We report on frequency doubling of high-energy, high repetition rate ns pulses from a cryogenically gas cooled multi-slab ytterbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser system, Bivoj/DiPOLE, using a type-I phase matched lithium triborate crystal. We achieved conversion to 515 nm with energy of 95 J at repetition rate of 10 Hz and conversion efficiency of 79%. High conversion efficiency was achieved due to successful depolarization compensation of the fundamental input beam.

In this paper we review the design and development of a 100 J, 10 Hz nanosecond pulsed laser, codenamed DiPOLE100X, being built at the Central Laser Facility (CLF). This 1 kW average power diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) is based on a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) design, which includes two cryogenic gas cooled amplifier stages based on DiPOLE multi-slab ceramic Yb:YAG amplifier technology developed at the CLF. The laser will produce pulses between 2 and 15 ns in duration with precise, arbitrarily selectable shapes, at pulse repetition rates up to 10 Hz, allowing real-time shape optimization for compression experiments. Once completed, the laser will be delivered to the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility in Germany as a UK-funded contribution in kind, where it will be used to study extreme states of matter at the High Energy Density (HED) instrument.

Er:CaF2 crystals are crucial gain media for producing 3 μm mid-infrared (MIR) lasers pumped by 976 nm continuous-wave (CW) lasers owing to their low phonon energy and high conversion efficiency. This study investigated the damage characteristics and mechanism of Er:CaF2 crystals irradiated with a 976 nm CW laser. The laser-induced damage threshold of Er:CaF2 crystals with different Er3+ doping levels was tested; the damage morphology consists of a series of regular 70° cracks related to the angle of the crystal slip system on the surface. A finite-element model was used to calculate the temperature and stress fields of the crystals. The results indicated that the damage can be attributed to surface tensile stresses caused by the temperature gradient, and crystals with higher doping concentrations were more susceptible to damage owing to stronger light absorption. These findings provide valuable insights into the development of high-power MIR lasers.

A number of vision-based methods for detecting laser-induced defects on optical components have been implemented to replace the time-consuming manual inspection. While deep-learning-based methods have achieved state-of-the-art performances in many visual recognition tasks, their success often hinges on the availability of a large number of labeled training sets. In this paper, we propose a surface defect detection method based on image segmentation with a U-shaped convolutional network (U-Net). The designed network was trained on paired sets of online and offline images of optics from a large laser facility. We show in our experimental evaluation that our approach can accurately locate laser-induced defects on the optics in real time. The main advantage of the proposed method is that the network can be trained end to end on small samples, without the requirement for manual labeling or manual feature extraction. The approach can be applied to the daily inspection and maintenance of optical components in large laser facilities.

Femtosecond oscillators with gigahertz (GHz) repetition rate are appealing sources for spectroscopic applications benefiting from the individually accessible and high-power comb line. The mode mismatch between the potent pump laser diode (LD) and the incredibly small laser cavity, however, limits the average output power of existing GHz Kerr-lens mode-locked (KLM) oscillators to tens of milliwatts. Here, we present a novel method that solves the difficulty and permits high average power LD-pumped KLM oscillators at GHz repetition rate. We propose a numerical simulation method to guide the realization of Kerr-lens mode-locking and comprehend the dynamics of the Kerr-lens mode-locking process. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, an LD-pumped Yb:KGW oscillator with up to 6.17-W average power and 184-fs pulse duration at 1.6-GHz repetition rate is conducted. The simulation had a good agreement with the experimental results. The cost-effective, compact and powerful laser source opens up new possibilities for research and industrial applications.

We report on compact and robust supercontinuum generation and post-compression using transmission of light through multiple thin solid plates at the SwissFEL X-ray free-electron laser facility. A single stage consisting of three thin plates followed by a chirped mirror compressor achieves compression of initially 30-fs pulses with 800-nm center wavelength to sub-10-fs duration. We also demonstrate a two-stage implementation to compress the pulses further to sub-5-fs duration. With the two-stage setup, the generated supercontinuum includes wavelengths ranging from 500 to 1100 nm. The multi-plate setup is compact, robust, and stable, which makes it ideal for applications at free-electron laser facilities such as pump-probe experiments and laser-arrival timing tools.

Ultraintense laser–plasma experiments generate a variety of high-energy radiations, including nonlinear inverse Compton scattered (NCS) X-rays, which are expected to be a key experimental observable as we transition into the quantum electrodynamic plasma regime. However, there is also a high bremsstrahlung X-ray background that reduces our ability to observe NCS X-rays. Previous numerical studies comparing NCS and bremsstrahlung emissions fail to capture the full temporal emission of both processes. We present for the first time two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) and three-dimensional hybrid-PIC EPOCH simulations that capture up to 150 ps of the laser–plasma interaction and directly compare the NCS and bremsstrahlung emissions for a plastic target for intensities of ${10}^{20}{-}{10}^{23}$ W/cm2. We present angular distribution plots where the NCS emission is seen to dominate at intensities greater than 5$\times {10}^{21}$ W/cm2 and the target design is seen to successfully divert the bremsstrahlung signal away from the NCS lobe regions, making the experimental observation of nonlinear inverse Compton scattering at lower intensities more likely.

A high-energy, alignment-insensitive, injection-seeded Q-switched Ho:yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) single-frequency laser is developed. Both the slave Q-switched laser and the seed laser are Ho:YAG ring lasers based on a pair of corner cubic reflectors. The seed laser has an available power of 830 mW at 2096.667 nm. At 100 Hz, the Q-switched Ho:YAG laser provides a single-frequency pulsed output using injection-seeded technology. The 7.3 mJ single-frequency pulse energy from the slave laser has a pulse width of 161.2 ns and is scaled to 33.3 mJ after passing through the Ho:YAG single-pass amplifier. According to the measurement results of the heterodyne beating technique, the single-frequency pulse has a half-width of 4.12 MHz.

Exploiting high-energy electron beams colliding into high-intensity laser pulses brings an opportunity to reach high values of the dimensionless rest-frame acceleration $\chi$ and thereby invoke processes described by strong-field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED). Measuring deviations from the results of Furry-picture perturbation theory in SFQED at high $\chi$ can be valuable for testing existing predictions, as well as for guiding further theoretical developments. Nevertheless, such experimental measurements are challenging due to the probabilistic nature of the interaction processes, dominating signals of low-$\chi$ interactions and limited capabilities to control and measure the alignment and synchronization in such collision experiments. Here we elaborate a methodology of using approximate Bayesian computations for drawing statistical inferences based on the results of many repeated experiments despite partially unknown collision parameters that vary between experiments. As a proof-of-principle, we consider the problem of inferring the effective mass change due to coupling with the strong-field environment.

The high-power narrow-linewidth fiber laser has become the most widely used high-power laser source nowadays. Further breakthroughs of the output power depend on comprehensive optimization of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and transverse mode instability (TMI). In this work, we aim to further surpass the power record of all-fiberized and narrow-linewidth fiber amplifiers with near-diffraction-limited (NDL) beam quality. SBS is suppressed by white-noise-signal modulation of a single-frequency seed. In particular, the refractive index of the large-mode-area active fiber in the main amplifier is controlled and fabricated, which could simultaneously increase the effective mode field area of the fundamental mode and the loss coefficient of higher-order modes for balancing SRS and TMI. Subsequent experimental measurements demonstrate a 7.03 kW narrow-linewidth fiber laser with a signal-to-noise ratio of 31.4 dB and beam quality factors of Mx2 = 1.26, My2 = 1.25. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest reported power with NDL beam quality based on a directly laser-diode-pumped and all-fiberized format, especially with narrow-linewidth spectral emission.

In this work, we demonstrate the generation of high-performance tunable Raman solitons beyond 3 μm in a 10 cm, large-core (40 μm) fluorotellurite fiber. The pump source is a high-peak-power Raman soliton generated through soliton fission in a silica fiber. By further cascading the 10 cm highly nonlinear fluorotellurite fiber, this Raman soliton undergoes successive high-order soliton fission and soliton self-frequency shift with a tunable range of 2.7–3.3 μm. Such an ultra-short-length and ultra-large-core fiber significantly reduces the pulse width of the 3.3 μm Raman soliton to 55 fs, doubling the peak power to 2.3 MW compared to previous studies. Furthermore, owing to the seed’s high-repetition-frequency feature, the 3.3 μm Raman soliton’s power exceeds 2 W. These performance metrics represent the highest levels achieved for Raman solitons at wavelengths above 3 μm, offering a simple and effective new approach for generating high-peak-power femtosecond pulses in the mid-infrared spectral region.

An analytical expression for focal intensity is derived for arbitrary surface profiles and arbitrary groove patterns of compressor gratings. The expression is valid for different compressor designs: plane and out-of-plane compressors, symmetric and asymmetric compressors (compressors composed by two not-identical pairs of gratings) and a two-grating compressor. It is shown that the quality requirements for the optics used to write a grating are higher than for the grating. The focal intensity can be maximized by rotating each grating around its normal by 180 degrees. Moreover, it may be increased to maximum by interchanging any two gratings in the compressor, because imperfections of an individual grating do not additively affect the focal intensity. The intensity decrease is proportional to the squared pulse spectrum width and the squared total distortions of the second and third gratings of the four-grating compressor and the total distortions of two gratings of the two-grating compressor.

Laser–plasma accelerated (LPA) proton bunches are now applied for research fields ranging from ultra-high-dose-rate radiobiology to material science. Yet, the capabilities to characterize the spectrally and angularly broad LPA bunches lag behind the rapidly evolving applications. The OCTOPOD translates the angularly resolved spectral characterization of LPA proton bunches into the spatially resolved detection of the volumetric dose distribution deposited in a liquid scintillator. Up to 24 multi-pinhole arrays record projections of the scintillation light distribution and allow for tomographic reconstruction of the volumetric dose deposition pattern, from which proton spectra may be retrieved. Applying the OCTOPOD at a cyclotron, we show the reliable retrieval of various spatial dose deposition patterns and detector sensitivity over a broad dose range. Moreover, the OCTOPOD was installed at an LPA proton source, providing real-time data on proton acceleration performance and attesting the system optimal performance in the harsh laser–plasma environment.

A high-energy picosecond 355 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser operating at 100 Hz was demonstrated. A 352 mJ, 69 ps, 1064 nm laser at 100 Hz was realized firstly by cascaded regenerative, laser diode end-pumped single-pass and side-pumped main amplifiers. The stimulated Raman scattering-based beam shaping technique, thermally induced birefringence compensation and 4f spatial filter-image relaying systems were used to maintain a relatively homogeneous beam intensity distribution during the amplification process. By using lithium triborate crystals for second- and third-harmonic generation (THG), a 172 mJ, approximately 56 ps, 355 nm UV laser was achieved with a THG conversion efficiency of 49%. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest pulse energy of a picosecond 355 nm UV laser so far. The beam quality factor ${M}^2$ and pulse energy stability were ${M}_x^2$=3.92, ${M}_y^2$=3.71 and root mean square of 1.48%@3 hours. This laser system could play significant roles in applications including photoconductive switch excitation, laser drilling and laser micro-fabrication.

Theoretical–computational studies of table-top laser-driven nuclear fusion of high-energy (up to 15 MeV) deuterons with ${}^{7} \mathrm{Li} $, ${}^{6} \mathrm{Li} $, and D nuclei demonstrate the attainment of high fusion yields within a source–target reaction design. This constitutes a source of Coulomb-exploding deuterium nanodroplets driven by an ultraintense femtosecond near-infrared laser and a solid hollow cylindrical target containing the second element. The source–target reaction design attains the highest table-top fusion efficiencies (up to $4\times 1{0}^{9} ~{\mathrm{J} }^{- 1} $ per laser pulse) obtained to date. The highest conversion efficiency of laser energy to nuclear energy ($1{0}^{- 2} $–$1{0}^{- 3} )$ for table-top DD fusion attained in the source–target design is comparable to that for DT fusion currently accomplished for ‘big science’ inertial fusion setups.

Isolated multi-MeV $\gamma$-rays with attosecond duration, high collimation and beam angular momentum (BAM) may find many interesting applications in nuclear physics, astrophysics, etc. Here, we propose a scheme to generate such $\gamma$-rays via nonlinear Thomson scattering of a rotating relativistic electron sheet driven by a few-cycle twisted laser pulse interacting with a micro-droplet target. Our model clarifies the laser intensity threshold and carrier-envelope phase effect on the generation of the isolated electron sheet. Three-dimensional numerical simulations demonstrate the $\gamma$-ray emission with 320 attoseconds duration and peak brilliance of $9.3\times 10^{24}$ photons s${}^{-1}$ mrad${}^{-2}$ mm${}^{-2}$ per 0.1$\%$ bandwidth at 4.3 MeV. The $\gamma$-ray beam carries a large BAM of $2.8 \times 10^{16}\mathrm{\hslash}$, which arises from the efficient BAM transfer from the rotating electron sheet, subsequently leading to a unique angular distribution. This work should promote the experimental investigation of nonlinear Thomson scattering of rotating electron sheets in large laser facilities.

In the design and construction of ultra-high-peak-power laser systems, it is necessary to control the accumulated B-integral of the laser pulse, but currently there are no reasonable B-integral control standards for picosecond and femtosecond lasers. We systematically evaluate the influence of the B-integral on the output capability of picosecond and femtosecond laser systems for the first time, to our knowledge, taking Nd:glass lasers and Ti:sapphire lasers as examples. For picosecond lasers, the temporal domain compressibility and the small-scale self-focusing effect restrict the B-integral to 1.7 and 1.9, respectively. For femtosecond lasers, the B-integral is mainly restricted by the small-scale self-focusing effect and the far-field focusability, which limit the B-integral to 1.5 and 1.7, respectively. The restriction made by far-field focusability can be largely relaxed by inserting a deformable mirror. The study of the factors restricting the B-integral will provide guidance for the design of ultra-high-peak-power laser systems.

The development of high-brightness X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs), such as hard X-ray self-seeding free electron lasers and XFEL oscillators (XFELOs), brings a severe challenge to the crystal monochromator due to a strong non-uniform thermal load. The distortion caused by spatial temperature gradients can severely affect the optical performance of crystals. Therefore, this paper presents a model to estimate the performance of non-uniform thermally distorted crystals. The model not only takes into account thermal strain, slope error and incident angle deviation, but also considers temperature-dependent factors such as the Debye–Waller factor and electric susceptibility. Our investigation indicates that the Debye–Waller factor reduces the height and bandwidth of rocking curves, and the impact of the electric susceptibility is tiny. The proposed model can describe the distortion of the reflectivity and transmissivity curves of non-uniform thermally loaded crystals and can be applied in the design of crystal monochromators, crystal splitters, crystal compressors and XFELOs.