Plasma Photonics for the Control of Kilojoule Lasers

University Of Rochester, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

This research project investigates the possibility of control of high-energy and high-power lasers using mirrors and other optics created with plasmas. Continued advances in laser science have enabled the development of more energetic and more powerful lasers that can provide unprecedented access to ultrafast time scales and to temperatures and pressures once reserved for the Sun. The utility of these lasers is limited by conventional laser optics, typically made of glass, which break down under high incident laser energy flux. In order to support high-energy lasers using conventional materials, special large-aperture optics are required to reduce the energy per unit area. The spatial limitations, complexity, and costs associated with such optics are a roadblock to the development and deployment of high-energy and high-peak-power lasers. Plasma-based optical devices offer an alternative to the conventional optics because they are not limited by material breakdown. The laser and x-ray technology enabled by plasma-based optical devices would be used in a wide range of applied research from materials science to biology to medicine. Development of plasma-based photonic devices from proof-of-principle concepts to an enabling technology for next-generation lasers requires improved understanding of their performance capabilities and limitations. The highest-level objective of this research project is to understand the plasma physics of photonic devices by demonstrating and fully characterizing ellipsoidal plasma mirrors (EPMs) for implementation in kilojoule (kJ)-class laser systems to produce high-quality laser pulses with modified temporal durations, increased laser contrast, and controllable focusing geometry. This work will include a series of experiments with detailed measurements of both the EPM performance and its effect on the laser properties. The advantage of the EPM technology is that it can be employed in existing lasers systems to increase their performance without having to modify the laser infrastructure. EPMs are an excellent option to control the focusing of ultrashort-pulse (< 100 fs), kJ-class lasers and could enable the high intensities necessary to explore emerging high-field scientific areas such as quantum electrodynamics and attosecond science. This award to support an undergraduate student is made under the NSF/DOE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering and is complementary to a DOE award made under the joint program.