Journal Article

Multistep redirection by cross-beam power transfer of ultrahigh-power lasers in a plasma

Kyrala, G. A., Berger, R. L., Schneider, M. B., Moses, E. I., Dewald, E. L., Kirkwood, R. K., Glenn, S., Thomas, C. A., Hinkel, D. E., Bond, E., Jones, O., Nikroo, A., Dixit, S., Haynam, C., Atherton, L. J., Kilkenny, J. D., Kruer, W. L., Williams, E. A., Izumi, N., Strozzi, D. J., Moody, J. D., Edwards, M. J., Glenzer, S. H., Callahan, D. A., LePape, S., Meezan, N. B., MacGowan, B. J., Bradley, D. K., Hamza, A., Kline, J. L., Lindl, J. D., Suter, L. J., Rosen, M. D., Town, R. P. J., Widmann, K., Divol, L., Landen, O. L., Michel, P.

2012

Overview

Laser redirection by cross-beam power transfer in a plasma is an important example of a nonlinear optics process which uses laser–plasma instabilities to one’s advantage. We have demonstrated this in a hohlraum plasma at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A four-wave mixing process causes laser power in multiple beams to change direction and add to the laser power of a selected beam. The process is controlled by setting the wavelength separation of the interacting laser beams. This technique provides a method to remotely re-point or combine high-powered laser beams without the need of local optical apparatus. A demonstration of the ability to control the flow of laser energy in a dense plasma by tuning the colour of multiple laser beams injected into it could be useful in the development of laser-driven fusion.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 639/624/1020/1088 / 639/766/1960 / 639/766/400/385 / Atomic / Beams (radiation) / Classical and Continuum Physics / Complex Systems / Condensed Matter Physics / Four-wave mixing / Laser beams / Lasers / Mathematical and Computational Physics / Molecular / Nonlinear optics / Optical and Plasma Physics / Optics / Physics / Physics and Astronomy / Plasma physics / Power transfer / Theoretical / Wavelengths