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GARPUN-MTW: A hybrid Ti:Sapphire/KrF laser facility for simultaneous amplification of subpicosecond/nanosecond pulses relevant to fast-ignition ICF concept

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2007

V.D. Zvorykin
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
N.V. Didenko
Affiliation:
Avesta Project Ltd., Troitsk, Russia
A.A. Ionin
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
I.V. Kholin
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
A.V. Konyashchenko
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
O.N. Krokhin
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
A.O. Levchenko
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
A.O. Mavritskii
Affiliation:
Avesta Project Ltd., Troitsk, Russia
G.A. Mesyats
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
A.G. Molchanov
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
M.A. Rogulev
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
L.V. Seleznev
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
D.V. Sinitsyn
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
S.YU. Tenyakov
Affiliation:
Avesta Project Ltd., Troitsk, Russia
N.N. Ustinovskii
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
D.A. Zayarnyi
Affiliation:
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Abstract

The first stage of the petawatt excimer laser project started at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, implements a development of multiterawatt hybrid GARPUN-MTW laser facility for generation of ultra-high intensity subpicosecond ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses. Under this project, a multi-stage e-beam-pumped 100-J, 100-ns GARPUN KrF laser was upgraded with a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire front-end, to produce combined subpicosecond/nanosecond laser pulses with variable time delay. Attractive possibility to amplify simultaneously short and long pulses in the same large-scale KrF amplifiers is analyzed with regard to the fast-ignition, inertial confinement fusion problem. Detailed description of hybrid laser system is presented with synchronized KrF and Ti:Sapphire master oscillators. Based on gain and absorption measurements at GARPUN amplifier and numerical simulations with a quasi-stationary code, we are predicting that 1.6 J can be obtained in a short pulse at hybrid GARPUN-MTW Ti:Sapphire/KrF laser facility, combined with several tens of joules in nanosecond pulse. Amplified spontaneous emission, which is responsible for the pre-pulse formation on a target, was also investigated: its acceptable level can be provided by properly choosing staged gain or loading the amplifiers by quasi-steady laser radiation. Fluorescence and transient absorption spectra of Ar/Kr/F2 mixtures conventionally used in KrF amplifiers were recorded to find out the possibility for femtosecond pulse amplification at the broadband Kr2F (42Γ → 1,2 2Γ) transition, which benefits in 100 times higher saturation energy density than for KrF (B → X) transition.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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