dispersion grating;frequency modulation-to-amplitude modulation conversion;high-power laser facility;inertial confinement fusion;phase modulation

Frequency modulation(FM)-to-amplitude modulation(AM) conversion is an important factor that affects the time±power curve of inertial confinement fusion(ICF) high-power laser facilities. This conversion can impact uniform compression and increase the risk of damage to optics. However, the dispersive grating used in the smoothing by spectral dispersion technology will introduce a temporal delay and can spatially smooth the target. The combined effect of the dispersive grating and the focusing lens is equivalent to a Gaussian low-pass filter, which is equivalent to 8 GHz bandwidth and can reduce the intensity modulation on the target to below 5% with 0.3 nm @ 3 GHz + 20 GHz spectrum phase modulation. The results play an important role in the testing and evaluating of the FM-to-AM on the final optics and the target, which is beneficial for comprehensively evaluating the load capacity of the facility and isentropic compression experiment for ICF.

Status and development of high-power laser facilities at the NLHPLP

In this paper, we review the status of the multifunctional experimental platform at the National Laboratory of High Power Laser and Physics(NLHPLP). The platform, including the SG-II laser facility, SG-II 9th beam, SG-II upgrade(SG-II UP) facility, and SG-II 5 PW facility, is operational and available for interested scientists studying inertial confinement fusion(ICF) and a broad range of high-energy-density physics. These facilities can provide important experimental capabilities by combining different pulse widths of nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond scales. In addition, the SG-II UP facility, consisting of a single petawatt system and an eight-beam nanosecond system, is introduced including several laser technologies that have been developed to ensure the performance of the facility. Recent developments of the SG-II 5 PW facility are also presented.

Spatio-temporal evolution of the optical field on a hohlraum wall at the rising edge of a flat-topped pulse

Considering the time delay in different hohlraum wall positions caused by oblique incidence,the spatio-temporal optical field distribution characteristics of a hohlraum wall,especially during the rising edge of a flat-topped pulse,is simulated by a fast Fourier transform method together with chromatography.Results demonstrate that beam propagation along the hohlraum wall is a push-broom process with complex dynamic spatial–temporal evolution.In the first few picoseconds,the optical intensity of the front position increases rapidly,while that of the rear position is relatively weak.The ratio R of the optical intensity during the rising edge is smaller than that of the steady state.R gradually increases and finally tends to the value of the steady state with time.Calculation also shows that,with shorter total width of the rising edge,R of the optical field decreases and the difference compared to the steady state becomes larger.The evolution is more severe with smaller angle of inclination.

Target alignment in the Shen-Guang Ⅱ Upgrade laser facility

The Shen-Guang II Upgrade(SG-Ⅱ-U) laser facility consists of eight high-power nanosecond laser beams and one shortpulse picosecond petawatt laser. It is designed for the study of inertial confinement fusion(ICF), especially for conducting fast ignition(FI) research in China and other basic science experiments. To perform FI successfully with hohlraum targets containing a golden cone, the long-pulse beam and cylindrical hohlraum as well as the short-pulse beam and cone target alignment must satisfy tight specifications(30 and 20 μm rms for each case). To explore new ICF ignition targets with six laser entrance holes(LEHs), a rotation sensor was adapted to meet the requirements of a three-dimensional target and correct beam alignment. In this paper, the strategy for aligning the nanosecond beam based on target alignment sensor(TAS) is introduced and improved to meet requirements of the picosecond lasers and the new six LEHs hohlraum targets in the SG-II-U facility. The expected performance of the alignment system is presented, and the alignment error is also discussed.

Design and performance of final optics assembly in SG-ⅡUpgrade laser facility

In high power laser facility for inertial confinement fusion research, final optics assembly(FOA) plays a critical role in the frequency conversion, beam focusing, color separation, beam sampling and debris shielding. The design and performance of FOA in SG-II Upgrade laser facility are mainly introduced here. Due to the limited space and short focal length, a coaxial aspheric wedged focus lens is designed and applied in the FOA configuration. Then the ghost image analysis,the focus characteristic analysis, the B integral control design and the optomechanical design are carried out in the FOA design phase. In order to ensure the FOA performance, two key technologies are developed including measurement and adjustment technique of the wedged focus lens and the stray light management technique based on ground glass.Experimental results show that the design specifications including laser fluence, frequency conversion efficiency and perforation efficiency of the focus spot have been achieved, which meet the requirements of physical experiments well.