Parasitic pencil beams caused by lens reflections in laser amplifier chains

James E. Murray; Bruno M. Van Wonterghem; Lynn G. Seppala; David Ralph Speck; John R. Murray

doi:10.1117/12.228267

8 December 1995 Parasitic pencil beams caused by lens reflections in laser amplifier chains

James E. Murray, Bruno M. Van Wonterghem, Lynn G. Seppala, David Ralph Speck, John R. Murray

Proceedings Volume 2633, Solid State Lasers for Application to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF); (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.228267
Event: Solid State Lasers for Application to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), 1995, Monterey, CA, United States

Abstract

Reflections from lens surfaces create parasitic beams that can damage optics in high-powered laser systems. These parasitic beams are low in energy initially, because of the low reflectivity of antireflection (AR) coated lens surfaces and because they are clipped by spatial filter pinholes, but subsequent amplification can raise them to damage fluence levels. Also, some of the pencil beams in multipass laser systems become pre-pulses at the output by by-pass of one or more of the passes, arriving at the output ahead of the main pulse in time. They are insidious because pencil beams that are not initially a problem can become so due to a slow degradation of the AR coatings. Both the Nova and Beamlet laser systems at LLNL have had optics damaged by pencil beams. The best solution for pencil beams is to tip the lenses far enough to eliminate them altogether. This is the approach taken for the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

Citation Download Citation

James E. Murray, Bruno M. Van Wonterghem, Lynn G. Seppala, David Ralph Speck, and John R. Murray "Parasitic pencil beams caused by lens reflections in laser amplifier chains", Proc. SPIE 2633, Solid State Lasers for Application to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), (8 December 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.228267

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