Funding for the OMEGA laser Upgrade project has been approved and the design of a 30-kJ, 351-nm, 60-beam laser system has begun. This system will provide a unique capability to validate high-performance, direct-drive laser-fusion targets. We highlight various design features of a system that will attain 1% - 2% irradiation uniformity with versatile pulse shaping, thus providing a wide range of irradiation options for direct-drive experiments. The Nd:glass laser system consists of 60 beamlines using 20-cm disk power-amplifiers, frequency- tripling, phase conversion with diffractive optics, and smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD). The initial pulse shape will be achieved by co-axial propagation of two beams having different pulse widths. These 'main' and 'foot' pulses will occupy different portions of the laser aperture. In addition, electro-optic technology will be used for shaping and truncation of these pulses.

Date Published: 1 June 1992
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 1627, Solid State Lasers III, (1 June 1992); doi: 10.1117/12.60169

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1627:
Solid State Lasers III
Gregory J. Quarles, Editor(s)