Optical pumped ultra-short pulse CO2 lasers as drivers of laser-plasma accelerators and other applications

D. A. Jaroszynski; R. N. Campbell; E. Brunetti; S. R. Yoffe

doi:10.1117/12.2522546

3 January 2019 Optical pumped ultra-short pulse CO₂ lasers as drivers of laser-plasma accelerators and other applications

D. A. Jaroszynski, R. N. Campbell, E. Brunetti, S. R. Yoffe

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11042, XXII International Symposium on High Power Laser Systems and Applications; 110420W (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2522546
Event: XXII International Symposium on High Power Laser Systems and Applications, 2018, Frascati, Italy

Abstract

Optically pumped CO₂ lasers can operate with high efficiency, high repetition rate and large bandwidths, suitable for producing ultra-short pulses at terawatts to petawatts, in contrast to conventional discharge-pumped CO₂ lasers, which are restricted by the requirements of discharge dynamics in high-pressure gas. We show how an optically pumped CO₂ laser can be realised and we consider its application in laser-driven acceleration. There is potential to replace conventional transversely excited atmospheric CO₂ lasers with diode-pumped solid-state lasers as a pump laser for a high-pressure CO₂ gain medium, making it suitable for amplifying ultra-short pulses. We show that by driving a laser plasma wakefield accelerator with an ultra-short pulse CO₂ laser, a very high charge, high average current, high energy accelerator can be constructed. This could have a major impact on the application of these novel accelerators and radiation sources based on them.

Citation Download Citation

D. A. Jaroszynski, R. N. Campbell, E. Brunetti, and S. R. Yoffe "Optical pumped ultra-short pulse CO₂ lasers as drivers of laser-plasma accelerators and other applications", Proc. SPIE 11042, XXII International Symposium on High Power Laser Systems and Applications, 110420W (3 January 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2522546

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available