Performance of large-aperture optical switches for high-energy inertial-confinement fusion lasers
- University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808 L-490, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
We describe the design and performance of large-aperture ({lt}30 cm {times} 30 cm) optical switches that have demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, active switching of a high-energy ({lt}5 kJ) optical pulse in an inertial-confinement fusion laser. These optical switches, which consist of a plasma-electrode Pockels cell (PEPC) and a passive polarizer, permit the design of efficient, multipass laser amplifiers. In a PEPC, plasma discharges on the faces of a thin (1-cm) electro-optic crystal (KDP or KD{bold |}P) act as highly conductive and transparent electrodes. These plasma electrodes facilitate rapid ({lt}100 ns) and uniform charging of the crystal to the half-wave voltage and discharging back to 0 V. We discuss the operating principles, design, optical performance, and technical issues of a 32 cm {times} 32 cm prototype PEPC with both KDP and KD{bold |}P crystals, and a 37 cm {times} 37 cm PEPC with a KDP crystal for the Beamlet laser. This PEPC recently switched a 6-kJ, 3-ns pulse in a four-pass cavity.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 115791
- Journal Information:
- Applied Optics, Vol. 34, Issue 24; Other Information: PBD: 20 Aug 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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