Noise filtering in parametric amplification by dressing the seed beam with spatial chirp

Scattering pulse-induced temporal contrast degradation in chirped-pulse amplification lasers

Herein, a theory for modeling the problem of scattering pulse-induced temporal contrast degradation in chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) lasers is introduced. Using this model, the temporal evolutions of the scattering and signal pulses were simulated, the temporal contrasts for different cases were compared, and finally the theoretical prediction was verified by an experimental demonstration. The result shows that the picosecond and the nanosecond temporal contrast is mainly determined by the scattering pulses generated in the stretcher and the compressor, respectively. In addition, the B-integral accumulation will further degrade the temporal contrast, especially the picosecond temporal contrast. We believe it is helpful for solving the problem of the picosecond pedestal contrast (i.e., noise limit). With reference to these results, some suggestions for the temporal contrast improvement are presented.

Spatial asymmetry of optical parametric fluorescence with a divergent pump beam and potential applications

The spatial distribution of the optical parametric fluorescence generated in a negative uniaxial nonlinear crystal is asymmetric with respect to the pump when the pump beam has a slight divergence angle. The formation mechanism of this phenomenon and the influence of parameters were analyzed and discussed from a theoretical standpoint. Moreover, two potential applications of this phenomenon were experimentally demonstrated, showing the temporal contrast improvement of ultra-intense lasers and the intensity enhancement of special light sources induced by the optical parametric generation.

Spatiotemporal noise characterization for chirped-pulse amplification systems

Optical noise, the core of the pulse-contrast challenge for ultra-high peak power femtosecond lasers, exhibits spatiotemporal (ST) coupling induced by angular dispersion. Full characterization of such ST noise requires two-dimensional measurements in the ST domain. Thus far, all noise measurements have been made only in the temporal domain. Here we report the experimental characterization of the ST noise, which is made feasible by extending cross-correlation from the temporal domain to the ST domain. We experimentally demonstrate that the ST noise originates from the optical surface imperfections in the pulse stretcher/compressor and exhibits a linear ST coupling in the far-field plane. The contrast on the far-field axis, underestimated in the conventional measurements, is further improved by avoiding the far-field optics in the stretcher. These results enhance our understanding of the pulse contrast with respect to its ST-coupling nature and pave the way toward the design of high-contrast ultra-high peak power lasers.

High-field physics experiments are often plagued by noise in the driving laser, which remains poorly characterized. Ma et al. study the noise in a pulse stretcher and compressor system in the spatiotemporal domain and find that noise from the stretcher elements governs the pulse contrast at the laser focus.