975 nm multimode semiconductor lasers with high-order Bragg diffraction gratings

The 975 nm multimode diode lasers with high-order surface Bragg diffraction gratings have been simulated and calcu-lated using the 2D finite difference time domain(FDTD)algorithm and the scattering matrix method(SMM).The periods and etch depth of the grating parameters have been optimized.A board area laser diode(BA-LD)with high-order diffraction grat-ings has been designed and fabricated.At output powers up to 10.5 W,the measured spectral width of full width at half maxi-mum(FWHM)is less than 0.5 nm.The results demonstrate that the designed high-order surface gratings can effectively nar-row the spectral width of multimode semiconductor lasers at high output power.

High wall-plug efficiency 808-nm laser diodes with a power up to 30.1 W

A very highly efficient InGaAlAs/AlGaAs quantum-well structure was designed for 808 nm emission,and laser diode chips 390-μm-wide aperture and 2-mm-long cavity length were fabricated.Special pretreatment and passivation for the chip facets were performed to achieve improved reliability performance.The laser chips were p-side-down mounted on the AlN submount,and then tested at continuous wave(CW)operation with the heat-sink temperature setting to 25℃using a thermoelectric cooler(TEC).As high as 60.5%of the wall-plug efficiency(WPE)was achieved at the injection current of 11 A.The maximum output power of 30.1 W was obtained at 29.5 A when the TEC temperature was set to 12°C.Accelerated life-time test showed that the laser diodes had lifetimes of over 62111 h operating at rated power of 10 W.

Role of Thermal Stresses in Degradation of High Power Laser Diodes

Catastrophic degradation of high power laser diodes is due to the generation of extended defects inside the active parts of the laser structure during the laser operation.The mechanism driving the degradation is strongly related to the existence of localized thermal stresses generated during the laser operation.These thermal stresses can overcome the yield strength of the materials forming the active part of the laser diode.Different factors contribute to reduce the laser power threshold for degradation.Among them the thermal transport across the laser structure constitutes a critical issue for the reliability of the device.

Review of high-power pulsed systems at the Institute of High Current Electronics

In this paper,we give a review of some most powerful pulsed systems developed at the Institute of High Current Electronics(HCEI),Siberian Branch,Russian Academy of Sciences,and describe latest achievements of the teams dealing with these installations.Besides the presented high-power systems,HCEI performs numerous investigations using much less powerful generators.For instance,last year much attention was paying to the research and development of the intense low-energy(<200 kV)high-current electron and ion beam and plasma sources,and their application in the technology[1-3].

Efficient loading of ultracold sodium atoms in an optical dipole trap from a high power fiber laser

We report on a research of the loading of ultracold sodium atoms in an optical dipole trap,generated by two beams from a high power fiber laser.The effects of optical trap light power on atomic number,temperature and phase space density are experimentally investigated.A simple theory is proposed and it is in good accordance with the experimental results of the loaded atomic numbers.In a general estimation,an optimal value for each beam with a power of 9 W from the fiber laser is achieved.Our results provide a further understanding of the loading process of optical dipole trap and laid the foundation for generation of a sodium Bose–Einstein condensation with an optical dipole trap.

Research on quantum well intermixing of 680 nm AlGaInP/GaInP semiconductor lasers induced by composited Si-Si_(3)N_(4) dielectric layer

The optical catastrophic damage that usually occurs at the cavity surface of semiconductor lasers has become the main bottleneck affecting the improvement of laser output power and long-term reliability.To improve the output power of 680 nm AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well red semiconductor lasers,Si-Si_(3)N_(4)composited dielectric layers are used to induce its quantum wells to be intermixed at the cavity surface to make a non-absorption window.Si with a thickness of 100 nm and Si_(3)N_(4)with a thickness of 100 nm were grown on the surface of the epitaxial wafer by magnetron sputtering and PECVD as diffusion source and driving source,respectively.Compared with traditional Si impurity induced quantum well intermixing,this paper realizes the blue shift of 54.8 nm in the nonabsorbent window region at a lower annealing temperature of 600 ℃ and annealing time of 10 min.Under this annealing condition,the wavelength of the gain luminescence region basically does not shift to short wavelength,and the surface morphology of the whole epitaxial wafer remains fine after annealing.The application of this process condition can reduce the difficulty of production and save cost,which provides an effective method for upcoming fabrication.

Scaling diode-pumped, high energy picosecond lasers to kilowatt average powers

Recent results in the development of diode-driven high energy, high repetition rate, picosecond lasers, including the demonstration of a cryogenic Yb:YAG active mirror amplifier that produces 1.5 J pulses at 500 Hz repetition rate(0.75 kW average power) are reviewed. These pulses are compressed resulting in the generation of ~5 ps duration,1 J pulses with 0.5 kW average power. A full characterization of this high power cryogenic amplifier, including atwavelength interferometry of the active region under >1 kW average power pump conditions, is presented. An initial demonstration of operation at 1 kW average power(1 J, 1 k Hz) is reported.

A Comparative Study of Epi-up and Epi-Down Bonding of High Power 980 nm Single-Mode Semiconductor Lasers

Epi-up and epi-down bonding of high power 980nm lasers have been studied in terms of bonding process, thermal behavior, optical performances, thermal stress effects and long-term laser reliability. We demonstrated that epi-down bonding can offer lower thermal resistance and improved optical performances without significantly degrading the long-term laser reliability.

An evaluation of sustainability and societal impact of high-power laser and fusion technologies:a case for a new European research infrastructure

Fusion energy research is delivering impressive new results emerging from different infrastructures and industrial devices evolving rapidly from ideas to proof-of-principle demonstration and aiming at the conceptual design of reactors for the production of electricity.A major milestone has recently been announced in laser fusion by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is giving new thrust to laser-fusion energy research worldwide.Here we discuss how these circumstances strongly suggest the need for a European intermediate-energy facility dedicated to the physics and technology of laser-fusion ignition,the physics of fusion materials and advanced technologies for high-repetitionrate,high-average-power broadband lasers.We believe that the participation of the broader scientific community and the increased engagement of industry,in partnership with research and academic institutions,make most timely the construction of this infrastructure of extreme scientific attractiveness.

Study and design of cladding power stripper for high power fiber laser systems

Heat handling has been a significant problem of the high power fiber laser systems as the output power increases rapidly.Cladding power stripper(CPS) which is used to deal with the unwanted optical power and light is required for higher cooling ability. So the methods of stripping the unwanted light attracted much attention recently, and the thermal effect is given. However, few investigations focus on the dissipation of the heat converted from the unwanted light. In this paper,an approach of active cooling for CPS is demonstrated. This is achieved by using microchannel cooling technology in heat sinking in CPS to improve the efficiency of heat exchange. In order to explain the mechanism of CPS the function of it and consistence of categories of the unwanted light are detailed firstly. Then microchannel heat sinking is proposed and verified by the heat exchange theory. At last, the design of the CPS with microchannel heat sinking is shown and following experiment is conducted. The final temperature of the device with 1000 W cladding power was demonstrated at last to verify the ability of heat distribution of the CPS component. This suggests that these CPSs can be used to stripe a thousand of watts of light in high power double cladding fiber lasers.

Effect of Ni content on high power laser ablation behavior of coatings sprayed by Ni covering graphite/SiO2 powders

Faced with the challenge of high energy ablation problems, especially for laser ablation, effective energy dissipation protective materials fabricate by efficient preparation method is a feasible solution. The Ni-graphite/Si O2 coatings with different Ni content were prepared by plasma spraying method with optimized plasma spraying parameters. All coatings are pure without oxidation and dense. Their ablation behaviors were investigated by high power continuous wave laser. The results indicate that the Ni-graphite/Si O2 coating with appropriate Ni content could realize the purpose of energy consumption by endothermal reaction of graphite/Si O2 and reflection improvement. High Ni content will block the occurrence of endothermal reaction of graphite/Si O2 and increase the heat diffusion to interior part of coating, which can make the ablation situation of coating more serious.

High-intensity laser-driven secondary radiation sources using the ZEUS 45 TW laser system at the Institute of Plasma Physics and Lasers of the Hellenic Mediterranean University Research Centre

The rapid development of high-intensity laser-generated particle and photon secondary sources has attracted widespread interest during the last 20 years not only due to fundamental science research but also because of the important applications of this developing technology.For instance,the generation of relativistic particle beams,betatron-type coherent X-ray radiation and high harmonic generation have attracted interest from various fields of science and technology owing to their diverse applications in biomedical,material science,energy,space,and security applications.In the field of biomedical applications in particular,laser-driven particle beams as well as laser-driven X-ray sources are a promising field of study.This article looks at the research being performed at the Institute of Plasma Physics and Lasers(IPPL)of the Hellenic Mediterranean University Research Centre.The recent installation of the ZEUS 45 TW laser system developed at IPPL offers unique opportunities for research in laser-driven particle and X-ray sources.This article provides information about the facility and describes initial experiments performed for establishing the baseline platforms for secondary plasma sources.

The 3rd International Symposium on High Power Laser Science and Engineering

9 to 12,April,2018 Suzhou,China International Symposium series on High Power Laser Science and Engineering,aiming at bringing together worldwide scientists and engineers working on high power laser and physics,is held every two years since 2014.On behalf of the 3rd International Symposium on High Power Laser Science and Engineering(HPLSE2018),

High power generation of adaptive laser beams in a Nd：YVO4 MOPA system

We report efficient power scaling of the laser output with an adaptive beam profile from an Nd:YAG dual-cavity master oscillator using a three-stage end-pumped Nd:YVO_4 amplifier. We succeed in the fast switching of an excited laser mode by modulating an acousto-optic modulator loss in a dual-cavity master oscillator, thereby achieving temporal modulation of the output beam profile. The outputs from the master oscillator are amplified via a three-stage power amplifier yielding 36.6, 40.5, and 45.4 W of the maximum output at 116.8 W of incident pump power for the transverse electromagnetic, Laguerre–Gaussian, and quasi-top-hat beam, respectively. The prospects for further power scaling and applications via the dual-cavity master-oscillator power-amplifier(MOPA) system are considered.

High power and beam quality continuous-wave Nd:Gd VO_4 laser in-band diode-pumped at 912 nm

We report on the performance of a continuous-wave Nd:Gd VO_4 laser in-band diode-pumped at 912 nm with high output power and excellent beam quality. The laser produced an output power of 19.8 W at 1063 nm with an optical efficiency of 59.3% and slope efficiency of 62.7%. The laser threshold was ~2.04 W of the absorbed pump power, and the laser output beam quality was ≤ 1.2 in the horizontal and vertical directions. The strength of thermal lensing at full output power(33.4 W of absorbed power) was measured to be an average of 8.6 diopters.It is shown that thermal lensing is reduced by a factor of 2 with respect to the Nd:YVO_4 lasers, thus opening a way for further output-power scaling.

High efficiency second harmonic generation of nanojoule-level femtosecond pulses in the visible based on BiBO

We demonstrate high efficiency second harmonic generation(SHG) of near infrared femtosecond pulses using a BiB3 O6 crystal in a single-pass tight focusing geometry setup. A frequency doubling efficiency of 63% is achieved, which is,to the best of our knowledge, the highest value ever reported in the femtosecond regime for such low energy(nJ-level)pumping pulses. Theoretical analyses of the pumping scheme focusing waist and the SHG efficiency are performed, by numerically solving the three wave mixing coupled equations in the plane-wave scenario and by running simulations with a commercial full 3 D code. Simulations show a good agreement with the experimental data regarding both the efficiency and the pulse spectral profile. The simulated SHG pulse temporal profile presents the characteristic features of the group velocity mismatch broadening in a ‘thick' crystal.

Inertial confinement fusion ignition achieved at the National Ignition Facility–an editorial

On behalf of all at High Power Laser Science and Engineering we would like to congratulate the team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory(LLNL)on demonstrating fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility.This major scientific achievement was realized on the 5 December 2022 at the LLNL and announced at a press briefing on the 13 December 2022 by the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.This was a historic milestone and the culmination of decades of effort.

Metastable noble gas atoms in strong-field ionization experiments

The interactions of strong-field few-cycle laser pulses with metastable states of noble gas atoms are examined. Metastable noble gas atoms offer a combination of low ionization potential and a relatively simple atomic structure, making them excellent targets for examining ionization dynamics in varying experimental conditions. A review of the current work performed on metastable noble gas atoms is presented.

Generation of polarized particle beams at relativistic laser intensities

The acceleration of polarized electrons,positrons,protons and ions in strong laser and plasma fields is a very attractive option for obtaining polarized beams in the multi-mega-electron volt range.Recently,there has been substantial progress in the understanding of the dominant mechanisms leading to high degrees of polarization,in the numerical modeling of these processes and in their experimental implementation.This review paper presents an overview on the current state of the field,and on the concepts of polarized laser–plasma accelerators and of beam polarimetry.

Ultra-broadband near-infrared NOPAs based on the nonlinear crystals Bi BO and YCOB

We evaluate and demonstrate ultra-broadband near-infrared noncollinear optical parametric amplification in two nonlinear crystals,bismuth borate(Bi BO)and yttrium calcium oxyborate(YCOB),which are not commonly used for this application.The spectral bandwidth is of the microjoule level;the amplified signal is≥200 nm,capable of supporting sub-10 fs pulses.These results,supported by numerical simulations,show that these crystals have a great potential as nonlinear media in both low-energy,few-cycle systems and high peak power amplifiers for terawatt to petawatt systems based on noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification(NOPCPA)or a hybrid.