Speaker
Description
Multi-kHz, Multi-kW laser plasma accelerators (LPA) have the potential for high impact applications in scientific, medical, industrial and security fields. Coherently combining pulsed fiber lasers spatially, temporally, and spectrally provides a viable path to high peak and high average power. Such lasers can also upgrade beam diagnostics, shaping, and stripping in radiofrequency accelerator facilities.
We have built a three-spectral-channel, multi-stage fiber chirped pulse amplification (FCPA) laser system aimed at combining these spectral channels and achieving ~40fs compressed pulses after >70dB gain. To reach transform-limited pulse durations, we have modeled the systemic dispersion at various orders from pulse propagation through a fiber-based stretcher, fiber amplifiers, and a grating compressor, and designed compensation schemes. We have demonstrated phase-locking of all three spectral channels using FPGA-based feedback controls, and are currently investigating coherent spectral combination with combined pulse compression.
Unwanted changes in seeding and pump conditions of high power laser amplifiers can result in damage to the system. We have designed and implemented an FPGA-based, multilayer, distributed protection system, via rapidly sensing errors in signal amplitude, duration, and timing, and stopping seed pulses and pump lasers, critical for multi-spectral-channel high power laser amplifier operation.
Work supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics, under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231, and the Moore Foundation, under Grant No. 10631.
| Working group | WG1 |
|---|