Nonlinear imaging applications of high-power lasers: figures of merit

Application of high-power lasers to study matter at ultrahigh pressures

Uspekhi Fizicheskih Nauk ◽

10.3367/ufnr.0142.198403b.0395 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 142 (3) ◽

pp. 395 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

S.I. Anisimov ◽

A.M. Prokhorov ◽

Vladimir E. Fortov

Keyword(s):

High Power ◽

High Power Lasers

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Dual core delivery fibers for 1µm high power lasers increasing the flexibility in applications

International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics ◽

10.2351/1.5062228 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Klaus Loeffler ◽

Ruediger Brockmann ◽

Ralf Kohlloeffel

Keyword(s):

High Power ◽

High Power Lasers ◽

Dual Core

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Optimized Growth and Laser Application of Yb:LuAG Single-Crystal Fibers by Micro-Pulling-Down Technique

Crystals ◽

10.3390/cryst11020078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 78

Author(s):

Anye Wang ◽

Jian Zhang ◽

Shuai Ye ◽

Xiaofei Ma ◽

Baiyi Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Single Crystal ◽

High Power ◽

Slope Efficiency ◽

Continuous Wave ◽

Beam Quality ◽

Axial Direction ◽

Optical Quality ◽

Central Wavelength ◽

High Power Lasers ◽

Crystal Fibers

Single-crystal fibers (SCFs) have a great application potential in high-power lasers due to their excellent performance. In this work, high-quality and crack-free Yb3+:Lu3Al5O12 (Yb:LuAG) SCFs were successfully fabricated by the micro-pulling-down (μ-PD) technology. Based on the laser micrometer and the X-ray Laue diffraction results, these Yb:LuAG SCFs have a less than 5% diameter fluctuation and good crystallinity along the axial direction. More importantly, the distribution of Yb ions is proved to be uniform by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the laser experiment, the continuous-wave (CW) output power using a 1 mm diameter Yb:LuAG single-crystal fiber is determined to be 1.96 W, at the central wavelength of 1047 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 13.55%. Meanwhile, by applying a 3 mm diameter Yb:LuAG SCF, we obtain a 4.7 W CW laser output at 1049 nm with the slope efficiency of 22.17%. The beam quality factor M2 is less than 1.1 in both conditions, indicating a good optical quality of the grown fiber. Our results show that the Yb:LuAG SCF is a potential solid-state laser gain medium for 1 μm high-power lasers.

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Reflecting petawatt lasers off relativistic plasma mirrors: a realistic path to the Schwinger limit

High Power Laser Science and Engineering ◽

10.1017/hpl.2020.46 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Fabien Quéré ◽

Henri Vincenti

Keyword(s):

Light Intensity ◽

High Power ◽

Quantum Electrodynamics ◽

Laser Light ◽

Optical Breakdown ◽

Relativistic Plasma ◽

Laser Beams ◽

Relativistic Motion ◽

Quantum Vacuum ◽

High Power Lasers

Abstract The quantum vacuum plays a central role in physics. Quantum electrodynamics (QED) predicts that the properties of the fermionic quantum vacuum can be probed by extremely large electromagnetic fields. The typical field amplitudes required correspond to the onset of the ‘optical breakdown’ of this vacuum, expected at light intensities >4.7×1029 W/cm2. Approaching this ‘Schwinger limit’ would enable testing of major but still unverified predictions of QED. Yet, the Schwinger limit is seven orders of magnitude above the present record in light intensity achieved by high-power lasers. To close this considerable gap, a promising paradigm consists of reflecting these laser beams off a mirror in relativistic motion, to induce a Doppler effect that compresses the light pulse in time down to the attosecond range and converts it to shorter wavelengths, which can then be focused much more tightly than the initial laser light. However, this faces a major experimental hurdle: how to generate such relativistic mirrors? In this article, we explain how this challenge could nowadays be tackled by using so-called ‘relativistic plasma mirrors’. We argue that approaching the Schwinger limit in the coming years by applying this scheme to the latest generation of petawatt-class lasers is a challenging but realistic objective.

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