1
|
Wang H, Meadows AR, Jankowska E, Randel E, Reagan BA, Rocca JJ, Menoni CS. Laser induced damage in coatings for cryogenic Yb:YAG active mirror amplifiers. OPTICS LETTERS 2020; 45:4476-4479. [PMID: 32796987 DOI: 10.1364/ol.399293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We report results of a study of the laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) behavior of ion beam sputtered HfO2/SiO2 multilayer coatings on Yb:YAG using 1-on-1 and N-on-1 test protocols. The tests were conducted at ambient, vacuum, and cryogenic conditions using 280 ps pulses at λ=1030nm. The 1-on-1 LIDT of antireflection (AR) stacks is found to be only slightly reduced under vacuum and cryogenic conditions, while that of high reflectivity (HR) stacks is insensitive to environmental conditions within the uncertainty of the measurements. Cryogenic N-on-1 tests show the LIDT of the HR coating is almost the same as in the 1-on-1 tests. Conversely, the cryogenic N-on-1 test of the AR coating shows damage at ∼13J/cm2, a fluence lower than the 20.4J/cm2 of 1-on-1 tests. The AR damage behavior is found to be affected by imperfections at the Yb:YAG surface. These findings show that high surface quality is required to increase energy extraction from active mirror laser amplifiers.
Collapse
|
2
|
Yin L, Wang H, Reagan BA, Rocca JJ. Programmable pulse synthesizer for the generation of Joule-level picosecond laser pulses of arbitrary shape. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:35325-35335. [PMID: 31878703 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.035325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We report the demonstration of a pulse synthesizer based on spatial beam splitting and pulse stacking for the generation of picosecond laser pulses of Joule-level energy with arbitrary shape. An array of liquid crystals is used to control the amplitude of ten individual sub-pulses, and sliding retroreflectors are used to adjust their temporal separations. The synthesizer was used in combination with a λ=1.03 µm diode-pumped cryogenically-cooled Yb: YAG chirped pulse amplification laser to synthesize 1.3 J pulses or pulse trains of arbitrary shapes up to 9 ns duration with a temporal resolution as short as 8 ps. This pulse synthesizer offers the opportunity to incorporate a self-learning system to search for the optimal laser pulse shapes for various applications including optimized plasma conditions in laser-plasma based soft x-ray lasers and plasma sources for extreme ultraviolet lithography.
Collapse
|
3
|
Schiltz D, Patel D, Baumgarten C, Reagan BA, Rocca JJ, Menoni CS. Strategies to increase laser damage performance of Ta 2O 5/SiO 2 mirrors by modifications of the top layer design. APPLIED OPTICS 2017; 56:C136-C139. [PMID: 28158069 DOI: 10.1364/ao.56.00c136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Ta2O5/SiO2 high reflection (HR) interference coatings for λ∼1 μm offer superior performance at high irradiance conditions. However, these coatings are not good candidates for high peak power conditions in comparison to HfO2/SiO2 multilayer stacks. Here we show that the modification of the top layers design of a quarter wave Ta2O5/SiO2 high reflector leads to 4-5 fold increase in the laser damage fluence compared to a quarter wave (Ta2O5/SiO2)15 when tested at λ=1.03 μm using pulse durations of 0.19 and 4 ns and peak power densities of 43.5 and 216 GW/cm2. One of the designs achieved a laser damage threshold fluence of 174 J/cm2 at 4 ns, which is 10% higher than that of a HfO2/SiO2 quarter wave design.
Collapse
|
4
|
The Application of Cryogenic Laser Physics to the Development of High Average Power Ultra-Short Pulse Lasers. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2016. [DOI: 10.3390/app6010023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
|
5
|
Chang CL, Krogen P, Hong KH, Zapata LE, Moses J, Calendron AL, Liang H, Lai CJ, Stein GJ, Keathley PD, Laurent G, Kärtner FX. High-energy, kHz, picosecond hybrid Yb-doped chirped-pulse amplifier. OPTICS EXPRESS 2015; 23:10132-10144. [PMID: 25969056 DOI: 10.1364/oe.23.010132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We report on a diode-pumped, hybrid Yb-doped chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system with a compact pulse stretcher and compressor, consisting of Yb-doped fiber preamplifiers, a room-temperature Yb:KYW regenerative amplifier (RGA), and cryogenic Yb:YAG multi-pass amplifiers. The RGA provides a relatively broad amplification bandwidth and thereby a long pulse duration to mitigate B-integral in the CPA chain. The ~1030-nm laser pulses are amplified up to 70 mJ at 1-kHz repetition rate, currently limited by available optics apertures, and then compressed to ~6 ps with high efficiency. The near-diffraction-limited beam focusing quality is demonstrated with M(x)(2) = 1.1 and M(y)(2) = 1.2. The shot-to-shot energy fluctuation is as low as ~1% (rms), and the long-term energy drift and beam pointing stability for over 8 hours measurement are ~3.5% and <6 μrad (rms), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this hybrid laser system produces the most energetic picosecond pulses at kHz repetition rates among rod-type laser amplifiers. With an optically synchronized Ti:sapphire seed laser, it provides a versatile platform optimized for pumping optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification systems as well as driving inverse Compton scattered X-rays.
Collapse
|
6
|
Cojocaru GV, Ungureanu RG, Banici RA, Ursescu D, Delmas O, Pittman M, Guilbaud O, Kazamias S, Cassou K, Demailly J, Neveu O, Baynard E, Ros D. Thin film beam splitter multiple short pulse generation for enhanced Ni-like Ag x-ray laser emission. OPTICS LETTERS 2014; 39:2246-2249. [PMID: 24978964 DOI: 10.1364/ol.39.002246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
An alternative, novel multiple pulse generation scheme was implemented directly after the optical compressor output of an x-ray pump laser. The new method uses a polarization sensitive thin film beam splitter and a half-wavelength wave plate for tuning the energy ratio in the multiple short pulses. Based on this method, an extensive study was made of the running parameters for a grazing incidence pumped silver x-ray laser (XRL) pumped with a long pulse of 145 mJ in 6 ns at 532 nm and up to 1.45 J in few picoseconds at 810 nm. Fivefold enhancement in the emission of the silver XRL was demonstrated using the new pump method.
Collapse
|
7
|
Reagan BA, Li W, Urbanski L, Wernsing KA, Salsbury C, Baumgarten C, Marconi MC, Menoni CS, Rocca JJ. Hour-long continuous operation of a tabletop soft x-ray laser at 50-100 Hz repetition rate. OPTICS EXPRESS 2013; 21:28380-28386. [PMID: 24514347 DOI: 10.1364/oe.21.028380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We report the uninterrupted operation of an 18.9 nm wavelength tabletop soft x-ray laser at 100 Hz repetition rate for extended periods of time. An average power of about 0.1 mW was obtained by irradiating a Mo target with pulses from a compact diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser. Series of up to 1.8 x 10(5) consecutive laser pulses of ~1 µJ energy were generated by displacing the surface of a high shot-capacity rotating molybdenum target by ~2 µm between laser shots. As a proof-of-principle demonstration of the use of this compact ultrashort wavelength laser in applications requiring a high average power coherent beam, we lithographically printed an array of nanometer-scale features using coherent Talbot self-imaging.
Collapse
|
8
|
Noom DWE, Witte S, Morgenweg J, Altmann RK, Eikema KSE. High-energy, high-repetition-rate picosecond pulses from a quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG system. OPTICS LETTERS 2013; 38:3021-3023. [PMID: 24104637 DOI: 10.1364/ol.38.003021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
We report on a high-power quasi-CW pumped Nd:YAG laser system, producing 130 mJ, 64 ps pulses at 1064 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 300 Hz. Pulses from a Nd:YVO(4) oscillator are first amplified by a regenerative amplifier to the millijoule level and then further amplified in quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG modules. Pulsed diode pumping enables a high gain at repetition rates of several hundred hertz, while keeping thermal effects manageable. Birefringence compensation and multiple thermal-lensing-compensated relay-imaging stages are used to maintain a top-hat beam profile. After frequency doubling, 75 mJ pulses are obtained at 532 nm. The intensity stability is better than 1.1%, which makes this laser an attractive pump source for a high-repetition-rate optical parametric amplification system.
Collapse
|
9
|
Siebold M, Loeser M, Roeser F, Seltmann M, Harzendorf G, Tsybin I, Linke S, Banerjee S, Mason PD, Phillips PJ, Ertel K, Collier JC, Schramm U. High-energy, ceramic-disk Yb:LuAG laser amplifier. OPTICS EXPRESS 2012; 20:21992-22000. [PMID: 23037349 DOI: 10.1364/oe.20.021992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We report the first short-pulse amplification results to several hundred millijoule energies in ceramic Yb:LuAG. We have demonstrated ns-pulse output from a diode-pumped Yb:LuAG amplifier at a maximum energy of 580 mJ and a peak optical-to-optical efficiency of 28% at 550 mJ. In cavity dumped operation of a nanosecond oscillator we obtained 1 mJ at up to 100 Hz repetition rate. A gain bandwidth of 5.4 nm was achieved at room temperature by measuring the small-signal single-pass gain. Furthermore, we compared our results with Yb:YAG within the same amplifier system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Siebold
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Reagan BA, Wernsing KA, Curtis AH, Furch FJ, Luther BM, Patel D, Menoni CS, Rocca JJ. Demonstration of a 100 Hz repetition rate gain-saturated diode-pumped table-top soft x-ray laser. OPTICS LETTERS 2012; 37:3624-3626. [PMID: 22940970 DOI: 10.1364/ol.37.003624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate the operation of a gain-saturated table-top soft x-ray laser at 100 Hz repetition rate. The laser generates an average power of 0.15 mW at λ=18.9 nm, the highest laser power reported to date from a sub-20-nm wavelength compact source. Picosecond laser pulses of 1.5 μJ energy were produced at λ=18.9 nm by amplification in a Mo plasma created by tailoring the temporal intensity profile of single pump pulses with 1 J energy produced by a diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser. Lasing was also obtained in the 13.9 nm line of Ni-like Ag. These results increase by an order of magnitude the repetition rate of plasma-based soft x-ray lasers opening the path to milliwatt average power table-top lasers at sub-20 nm wavelengths.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brendan A Reagan
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Miller DE, Zapata LE, Ripin DJ, Fan TY. Sub-picosecond pulses at 100 W average power from a Yb:YLF chirped-pulse amplification system. OPTICS LETTERS 2012; 37:2700-2702. [PMID: 22743500 DOI: 10.1364/ol.37.002700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We present a high-repetition-frequency, diode-pumped, and chirped-pulse amplification system operating at 106 W average output power with excellent beam quality (M(2)=1.3), based on cryogenically cooled Yb:YLF. 1 nJ seed pulses, derived from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser, are first amplified to 1 mJ pulse energy at 10 kHz repetition frequency in a regenerative amplifier. The second-stage, multipass amplifier increases the pulse energy to 10.6 mJ, resulting in a spectral width of 2.2 nm. The pulses are compressed to 865 fs in duration, which is 1.26 times the transform limit.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Miller
- Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 244 Wood St, Lexington, Massachusetts 02420, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Papadopoulos DN, Pellegrina A, Ramirez LP, Georges P, Druon F. Broadband high-energy diode-pumped Yb:KYW multipass amplifier. OPTICS LETTERS 2011; 36:3816-3818. [PMID: 21964107 DOI: 10.1364/ol.36.003816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
We report a diode-pumped Yb:KYW amplifier delivering up to 27 mJ pulses at a repetition rate of 100 Hz and a spectral bandwidth of 5.5 nm, centered at around 1030 nm. The system is based on a double-head multipass amplifier configuration where the pump thermal load is distributed over two relatively thin laser crystals, which permits a sufficiently large number of passes with minimal passive losses, thus maximizing the energy extraction efficiency. The amplified pulse bandwidth theoretically supports 340 fs pulses, and as a demonstration, a small fraction of the amplified pulses has been compressed to 560 fs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios N Papadopoulos
- Institut de la Lumière Extrême, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, ENSTA Paristech, Institut d’Optique, Palaiseau Cedex, France.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|