Open AccessProgrammable pulse synthesizer for the generation of Joule-level picosecond laser pulses of arbitrary shape
Author(s) -
Liang Yin,
Hanchen Wang,
Brendan Reagan,
J. J. Rocca
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.27.035325
Subject(s) - optics , picosecond , pulse shaping , pulse (music) , joule (programming language) , femtosecond pulse shaping , laser , materials science , regenerative amplification , physics , ultrashort pulse , optical amplifier , power (physics) , detector , quantum mechanics
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.