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Characteristics and suppression of beam distortion in a high repetition rate nanosecond stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugation mirror

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2024

Yifu Chen
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
Bowen Tan
Affiliation:
School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Duo Jin
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
Bin Chen
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
Zhenxu Bai*
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
Kun Wang
Affiliation:
School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Yulei Wang
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
Zhiwei Lü
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin, China
*
Correspondence to: Zhenxu Bai, Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China. Email: baizhenxu@hotmail.com

Abstract

The stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugation mirror (SBS-PCM) based on liquid media is widely used in high-power laser systems due to its robust thermal load capacity, high energy conversion efficiency and improved beam quality. Nevertheless, with an increase in the pump repetition rate, thermally-induced blooming and optical breakdown can emerge, leading to distortions in the Stokes beam. In this study, we delved into the thermal effects in liquid SBS-PCMs employing hydrodynamic analysis, establishing a relationship between beam profile distortion and the thermal convection field. We calculated the temperature and convection velocity distribution based on the pump light parameters and recorded the corresponding beam profiles. The intensities of the beam profiles were modulated in alignment with the convection directions, reaching a velocity peak of 2.85 mm/s at a pump pulse repetition rate of 250 Hz. The residual sum of squares (RSS) was employed to quantify the extent of beam profile distortion relative to a Gaussian distribution. The RSS escalated to 7.8, in contrast to 0.7 of the pump light at a pump pulse repetition rate of 500 Hz. By suppressing thermal convection using a high-viscosity medium, we effectively mitigated beam distortion. The RSS was reduced to 0.7 at a pump pulse repetition rate of 500 Hz, coinciding with a twentyfold increase in viscosity, thereby enhancing the beam quality. By integrating hydrodynamic analysis, we elucidated and mitigated distortion with targeted solutions. Our research offers an interdisciplinary perspective on studying thermal effects and contributes to the application of SBS-PCMs in high-repetition-rate laser systems by unveiling the mechanism of photothermal effects.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NC
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with Chinese Laser Press
Figure 0

Figure 1 Experimental structure of the single-cell SBS-PCM. (a) Experimental setup. ISO, optical isolator; HR, highly reflective mirror; CCD, charge-coupled device-based beam quality analyzer; λ/2, half-wave plate. (b) Pump light distribution.

Figure 1

Table 1 Parameters of the SBS medium.

Figure 2

Figure 2 Temperature field and flow field at different repetition rates.

Figure 3

Figure 3 Maximum temperature and flow velocity. (a) Different repetition rates in FC-72. (b) Different media at 250 Hz.

Figure 4

Figure 4 Beam profile at different repetition rates. (a) Beam profile. (b) Fitting in the horizontal direction. (c) Fitting in the vertical direction.

Figure 5

Figure 5 RSS of Gaussian fitting: (a) in the horizontal/vertical direction; (b) positive/negative side in the vertical direction.

Figure 6

Figure 6 Beam profile at different pulse energies: (a) beam profile; (b) fitting in the horizontal direction; (c) fitting in the vertical direction.

Figure 7

Figure 7 RSSs at different pump energies.

Figure 8

Figure 8 Gaussian fitting of different media: (a) horizontal direction; (b) vertical direction; (c) RSS of the fitting.

Figure 9

Table 2 Beam profile at different repetition rates compared with the medium.

Figure 10

Table 3 Thermal convection velocity and temperature at different cell diameters.